World being Sued By São Paulo Over Iris Scans

São Paulo prosecutors have filed a civil case against Tools for Humanity and Amazon AWS over biometric iris scans linked to World. The claim seeks R$240 million, around $47 million, for alleged consumer harm involving more than 400,000 people.

Good to Know

• Prosecutors want all related data and metadata preserved.
• The case targets crypto rewards offered for iris verification.
• Amazon AWS faces claims linked to hosting World infrastructure.

Payments Sit at the Centre of the Case

The Consumer Prosecutor Office argues that World concentrated Orb locations in busy and lower-income areas of São Paulo. Prosecutors say financial rewards encouraged people facing economic pressure to provide sensitive biometric information.

Rather than seeking only compensation, the filing asks the court to suspend payments or benefits tied to iris scans while authorities assess the operation. It also requests preservation of records connected to collection, processing and storage.

Tools for Humanity allegedly kept distributing crypto benefits through internal World App transactions after the National Data Protection Authority ordered an end to incentives in February 2025. The case also claims users received insufficient information about the commercial purpose of the project and potential data risks involving AWS servers.

World rejects the central privacy concern. The company says it does not purchase, store or sell biometric data and says World ID allows anonymous verification through privacy technology.

World uses Orb devices to verify that a person is unique before issuing a digital World ID. The network began under the Worldcoin name and offers WLD cryptocurrency within its wider identity system.

The São Paulo action follows regulatory problems in other markets. Authorities in Argentina previously fined the project over consumer protection breaches, including concerns about minors and disclosure of biometric processing practices.

Amazon AWS has said its service terms are clear, according to Brazilian reporting. The court will now consider whether the hosting provider carries any responsibility for the alleged consumer violations.