Altman Defends Privacy Approach for New Iris-Scanning Product

TFH verifies whether an internet user is human using iris-scanning orbs. More than 12 million users have consented to face-scanning in exchange for Worldcoin cryptocurrency. Altman co-founded the company with Alex Blania.

TFH has gotten the attention of privacy regulators around the world. Brazil banned it, finding the crypto aspect of the service invalidates user consent. Regulators in Portugal, France, Spain and Germany are investigating whether the technology complies with the General Data Protection Regulation.

People had “very strong reactions” after product launch, said Altman, speaking remotely to the IAPP Global Privacy Summit in Washington on Thursday. “That’s an acceptable and very understandable reaction to something new,” he said. “People get more comfortable with what this is about from doing it.” He said he’s been pleased to see positive reactions on the potential implications for a “new approach to privacy” when it comes to biometric scanning.

Blania said the company anonymized its data and there is no central database, which helps “privacy proof” the service. Altman said entrepreneurs in this space see opportunity, but they also feel an “extreme amount of obligation to get it right.” There’s never been a greater need to “reconceptualize” new approaches to data privacy, and it will require a partnership between civil society, regulators and industry, he said.