- Indonesia halts Worldcoin and WorldID over unregistered operations and misuse of another firm’s business certificate.
- Komdigi suspends biometric ID project after legal violations, pending an investigation into data handling and compliance.
- Worldcoin’s iris-scanning platform faces legal trouble in Indonesia amid concerns over data privacy and false registration.
Indonesia has halted the operations of Worldcoin and its digital identity platform, WorldID, following findings of regulatory and legal violations. The Ministry of Communications and Digital Affairs (Komdigi) announced the suspension after receiving reports from the public and conducting a preliminary investigation.
It was determined that PT Terang Bulan Abadi, Worldcoin’s local partner, operated in the country without required registration as an Electronic System Operator (PSE) and without required certification (TDPSE). Officials said the service was also breaching transparency laws by using the business registration for a different company, PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara.
Authorities Identify Unlicensed Operations and Misuse of Registration
Pt Terang Bulan Abadi had not registered its digital services in the government and was not complying with the legal obligation, said Komdigi officials. Under the Indonesian rules, any company providing electronic services has to be registered with Komdigi as PSE and to obtain the TDPSE certificate to legally operate.
In addition, it was discovered that the company had been utilizing the PSE registration of PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara. Komdigi classified this action as a deliberate misrepresentation and a violation of the country’s electronic systems regulations. Officials said the findings indicate a failure to ensure basic accountability in the operation of digital platforms.
He added that referring to Article 5 of the Law of Digital Space No. 111 of 2018, the ministry decided to take preventive steps regarding the project, citing the law. Giving his take, he then said that the ministry will take representatives of PT Terang Bulan Abadi to provide clarification in a formal way. Government Regulation No. 71 of 2019 concerning Electronic Systems and Transactions and the related Ministerial Regulation.10 of 2021 also said Sabar’s action was done under the authority of.
According to the ministry, it was initiated due to reports of suspicious activities and ongoing community complaints about Worldcoin’s operations at the time. ‘This is all part of our drive to implement digital governance laws and ensure safe use of the internet for Egyptian citizens,’ officials said.
Worldcoin’s Biometric Data Collection Raises Red Flags
A digital identity system known as WorldID is one of Sam Altman’s other ventures: Worldcoin, a co-founded project. This platform obtains biometric information from the user’s iris – it’s scanned by a device called the Orb and generates a unique biometric identifier. For this, users are rewarded Worldcoin (WLD) tokens.
While the technology has been deployed in several countries, including parts of the US, the whole project has generated global concerns about how the project is collecting and managing biometric data. In Indonesia, biometric data collection and processing is regulated under the Personal Data Protection (PDP) Law which was promulgated in 2022 with data protection requirements and user consent requirements.
Komdigi emphasized that no digital platform is permitted to handle such sensitive data without compliance with national laws. Authorities are reviewing whether Worldcoin’s data practices in Indonesia violated the PDP Law, especially with regard to how data was collected, stored, and processed.
Currently, Indonesia is tightening its regulatory frame for digital and cryptocurrency services. Komdigi also oversees electronic systems and the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (Bappebti) oversees cryptocurrency related activities as well as requiring exchanges and digital asset projects to report and license on a regular basis.
The ministry said it is working with other agencies to see if more measures need to be taken against the companies involved in the case. Worldcoin and WorldID operations in Indonesia remain frozen for now, pending further clarification and investigation from the parties that brought such operations in Indonesia.
Komdigi also reiterated that all digital service providers should be working according to Indonesian law and being transparent in its operations. With monitoring of the situation, falls to protect users and abide by national digital regulations, the ministry also said.
