Worldcoin’s Ts & Cs – What Are You Signing Up For?

Worldcoin founders Sam Altman, (OpenAI CEO) and former Google engineer Alex Blania say the Worldcoin project started with the question “What if there were a way to freely distribute shares of a new digital token to every person on the planet, and if such an approach had been taken with Bitcoin, what kind of impact would it have had on individual empowerment?” In this feature we explore the basics of the project and highlight potential risks relating to the project’s personal data collection.

What Is Worldcoin?

According to its website, Worldcoin is an open-source protocol designed to let everyone have access to the global economy. It is intended to be fully decentralized and thus its decision-making and governance will be managed by its user community. There are three main components to the Worldcoin project. They are;

• The World ID – a privacy-preserving digital identity solution developed to unequivocally prove a holder’s unique personhood.

• The Worldcoin Token – freely distributed to people worldwide just for being a unique individual, the project says the Worldcoin token (WLD) will ultimately be used for both governance and utility.

• The World App – a self-custodial app that provides for purchases, payments and transfers using the WLD token, in addition to stablecoins, other digital assets, and fiat currencies.

In a world that will increasingly be managed and influenced by artificial intelligence, the project says one important aspect of the World ID digital identity is that it is a way for people to prove their “humanness”.

How Do You Get Worldcoins?

There are some basic rules such as you have to be over 18 and not living in a sanctioned country such as Iran, Russia, and North Korea. If you meet those criteria, the following steps apply.

1: Download the World App

Downloading the World App allows users to create an account and use a digital wallet linked to Worldcoin, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other digital and traditional currencies, including stablecoins. Tools for Humanity Corporation (a Delaware registered company based in San Francisco, founded by Altman and Blania in 2019), operates the World App.

2: Set up your World ID

To receive WLD tokens, users have to set up a World ID. The wallet can be used without having a Word ID, but only people who have completed the ID set up will receive free Worldcoin tokens. Unfortunately, this process is not simple and requires that users prove their “unique personhood” at a Worldcoin Operator using a biometric ID collection tool called an ‘Orb’.

With your permission, these operators will use a range of camera sensors and machine learning models to analyze your facial features and your iris specifically. They will photograph your irises and apply machine learning models and other computer vision techniques to create an ‘iris code’, which they say is a numerical representation of the most important features of an individual’s iris pattern.

Depending on what access to the World App’s functionality you want, you may also provide your name, email address, phone number and access to your phone’s address book.

So given you’re providing a lot of critical personal data, you’d expect Fort Knox level security in relation to the Orb Operators wouldn’t you? Unfortunately, the Worldcoin Project provides some comprehensive disclaimers in that regard.

“We partner with local independent contractors called ‘Orb Operators,’ who facilitate user signups and help answer questions you may have about us. These Orb Operators have received training and are knowledgeable about Worldcoin. However, we have no control over and disclaim all liability for what they say or how they conduct themselves. Orb Operators are not our agents or employees in any way. Any effort, feature, process, policy, standard, or other efforts undertaken by TFH in the interest of its users do not indicate an employment or agency relationship with an Orb Operator.”

So in simple terms, it appears what this is saying is ‘things could happen to your data and it’s nothing to do with us’. Not ideal. Also, in an important clause in the TFH Terms and Conditions, which you agree to by default if you use any component of the Worldcoin offering, you are required to “defend and indemnify” the Tools For Humanity company, in the case of any legal action that could somehow be connected to you. In layman’s terms, ‘indemnify’ means ‘cover the cost of’.

13.4 Release and Indemnification. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the TFH Parties from and against any claims, damages, costs, liabilities, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and expenses brought against a TFH Party by any third party arising out of or related to: (a) your use of the Services; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any rights of another person; (d) your conduct in connection with the Services; or (e) your use of WLD, any Digital Tokens, or the Worldcoin network. Some jurisdictions limit consumer indemnities, so some or all of the indemnity provisions in this paragraph may not apply to you.

In addition, if you happen to live in California, which has a specific law (California Civil Code § 1542) to protect consumers in similar situations, then by using Worldcoin, you are agreeing to waive those protections.

IF YOU ARE A CALIFORNIA RESIDENT, you waive the benefits and protections of California Civil Code § 1542, which provides: “[a] general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party.”

Finally, in addition to agreeing to defend Tools For Humanity Corporation, you also agree that Tools For Humanity can take over the action and agree a settlement – which you have indemnified them for.

If you are obligated to indemnify any of the TFH Parties, we reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to control any action or proceeding and to determine whether to settle and on what terms.

3. Receive your Worldcoins

With your Worldcoin wallet and WLD coins in hand, you can now join "the world’s largest identity and financial public network, open to everyone regardless of their country, background or economic status.”

Conclusion

Worldcoin stresses in all its documentation that it is compliant with all “laws and regulations governing biometric data collection and data transfer, including Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). Certainly, from the perspective of what it details in its Terms and Conditions and Privacy Notice, that appears to be the case. It also states that it will never collect any biometric data from any user “without that user’s explicit consent.” This is also appropriate and important. At the same time, the project is clear that it has no control over the actions of its Orb Operators, and that Tools For Humanity will not be liable for “the actions of Orb Operators” to the extent that the law allows it to not be liable.

There is a famous Latin legal phrase that every student in a commerce class learns early on – “Caveat Emptor”. In simple terms it means that the buyer is responsible for deciding on the quality or suitability of any product or service they are considering purchasing. In its Ts & Cs and Privacy Notice, Tools For Humanity clearly details what legal obligations consumers are taking on by engaging with the project. Given the importance of a person’s biometric identity data, nothing less would be expected. But given the critical nature of such data, anyone opting in to the Worldcoin project should definitely read the Terms and Conditions carefully, and also understand what they mean.