Indonesia’s Ministry of Communication and Digital has suspended the operating license of World, the crypto-identity project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, citing regulatory violations and potential risks to the public.
World’s Local Operations Suspended In Indonesia
In a statement released on Sunday, the Indonesian IT ministry confirmed that it had resorted to suspension of World (formerly known as Worldcoin) following reports of suspicious activities linked to it and its identity verification platform, World ID. The suspension affects the project’s two local partners, PT. Terang Bulan Abadi and PT. Sandina Abadi Nusantara, who is expected to appear before authorities for further clarification.
“This is a preventive measure to protect the public from potential harm,” said Alexander Sabar, Director General for Digital Supervision, in a translated statement.
A preliminary investigation revealed that PT. Terang Bulan Abadi was not registered as an electronic system operator and lacked the necessary permits required to legally operate a digital service in the country. Furthermore, officials allege that the project was functioning under a license issued to a different legal entity, a violation described by the ministry as “serious.”
The regulatory crackdown in Indonesia comes just as World announces a broader expansion in the US, where the project recently launched identity verification services in six major cities including Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. Verified users in the US are now eligible to receive WLD tokens in exchange for creating a World ID.
At the same time, World is extending its ecosystem beyond ID services. A Visa debit card is in development that will allow users to spend crypto directly from their World App wallets at any merchant accepting Visa. Furthermore, the project is entering the online dating space, partnering with Match Group to pilot a feature on Tinder in Japan designed to verify profile authenticity as a part of its efforts to handle AI-generated personas.
Despite its growth, World continues to face global scrutiny over data privacy, with Indonesia being the latest case. In December 2024, Spain’s data protection authority ordered the deletion of iris scan data collected during the project’s operations. Also, in August 2024, Colombia opened an investigation into World’s compliance with local privacy laws. Colombian authorities stated that the company had failed to prove that iris scanning did not involve collecting sensitive biometric data, which is tightly regulated under Colombian law. The country’s law defines “sensitive data” as information that can be used to discriminate against a person. Moreover, in South America, regulatory officials in Argentina, Chile, and Peru have started their own inquiries into whether TfH complies with local regulations.
Also Read: OpenAI to Launch AI Agents with Fees from $2K to $20K per Month
