OpenAi CEO Sam Altman’s Tool for Humanity met another tough hurdle. This time, it was Brazil, which blocked Altman’s effort to create a global identity system. Brazil’s data protection authority ANPD, expressed suspicion about the way the organisation processes data, and demanded more transparency in that area.
What does the organisation have to say about Brazil’s move? Would they be able to overcome this?
Brazil Bans Iris Scan Payments
The Brazilian government banned the operation of Tools of Humanity in the country. ANPD had launched an investigation into the organisation in November, 2024. The ban came as the culmination of this investigation process.
Why Brazil Took This Step?
Primarily, the government rejected the idea of paying financial compensation to people in exchange for their biometric data, highlighting its potential to interfere with their free expression of will.
Additionally, expressing concerns about the way the organisation processes data, the government called for greater transparency in the data processing framework.
Denouncing all the allegations levelled against Tools for Humanity, the organisation asserted their commitment to the Brazilian legal framework. They lashed out at people spreading fake information about the project on social media platforms.
Expressing their genuine interest in providing their service to Brazilaians, they revealed their plan to approach the Brazilian data protection agency as an effort to convince them of the significance of their project.
Sam Altman’s Tools for Humanity aims to create a global identity system by scanning irises in exchange for crypto rewards and digital IDs.
Brazil is not the first country that has placed a hurdle before the project. Earlier, Spain and Portugal rejected it, highlighting similar reasons.
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In conclusion, Brazil’s decision to ban Tools for Humanity underscores the growing tension between innovation and data protection. With allegations of transparency issues, the organisation now faces a challenge to rebuild trust with regulators and users. As the global debate on biometric data collection continues, all eyes remain on Tools for Humanity’s next steps in Brazil.
