YOGYAKARTA - Recently, social media has been enlivened by conversations about the Worldcoin and World ID platforms. Various photos and videos are widespread, showing community queues at the World office located in Bekasi City and Depok City. It is interesting to get to know the World ID and the function of this platform.
This platform is said to reward users who are willing to scan their own devices. Although it was a hot topic of conversation, Worldcoin and World ID's operational permits have now been frozen by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi).
The presence of Worldcoin and World ID caused controversy, especially due to public concerns about the protection of personal data. So what exactly is Worldcoin and World ID?
Please note, Worldcoin is a cryptocurrency (WLD) project launched by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, in 2023. The project is run by the company Tools for Humanity based in San Francisco and Berlin.
According to information from Coin Market Cap, currently WLD has a market capitalization of around IDR 19 trillion, with a total of 1.3 billion coins circulating from the target of 10 billion coins. The price per WLD coin on Monday (5/5/2025) was recorded at around IDR 15,077.
Worldcoin comes with a digital wallet application called World App which is claimed to have been actively used by around 26 million users. In addition to storing the Worldcoin coin, the World App can also store a digital identity called World ID.
World ID itself is a form of digital identity designed to prove that a person is a real human, not an AI program or bot. To obtain a World ID, users must register first.
Registration is done through scanning eye slices using a spherical device called the Orb. After the eye slashes are successfully scanned and verified as a human, the system will produce World ID.
Sam Altman and Alex Blania, co-founder of Tools for Humanity, hope World ID can be a new solution for identity verification in the digital realm. Given that the digital world is now filled with bots, scams and artificial intelligence that mimic humans.
With the World ID, verification as a native in the digital ecosystem is expected to be carried out more precisely. This World ID creation process is similar to biometric methods such as Apple's Face ID.
However, World ID does not store user biometric data directly, but does produce identification through a cryptographic technique called zero-knowledge proofs.
Theoretically, users can take advantage of World ID to enter various digital platforms without the need to share personal data such as name, email, or photos. One of the major platforms that now supports logging in with World ID is Okta.
World ID is closely connected to Worldcoin, which is used as a promotional strategy to encourage people to register. Based on a report from the Times, everyone who registers for World ID will get a reward in the form of Worldcoin tokens whose numbers can vary in each country.
When it was first launched in 2023, Worldcoin offered 25 tokens (approximately IDR 900.000 at that time) to every user who registered for World ID. As of this year, more than 12 million people have scanned their eyes through the Orb and obtained World ID.
Orb's eye slice scanners are available in more than 1,500 units spread across 23 countries. Despite promising security and incentive systems, the existence of Worldcoin and World ID continues to cause controversy.
Many people think that the Worldcoin and World ID businesses that rely on scanning the eye ball in exchange for cryptocurrencies are something to worry about. Some even call the reward a form of covert bribery.
Worldcoin stated that eye slice biometric data collected through the Orb device will be deleted immediately after it is processed and converted into cryptographic code. However, the history of data misuse in the past has made people remain vigilant and afraid that the data can be sold or used to spy on individuals.
A report from the MIT Technology Review in 2022 reveals that the Worldcoin project has implemented manipulative methods in a number of countries such as Indonesia, Kenya, and Chile to attract people to register.
In some cases, Worldcoin promises prizes like AirPods without transparently explaining the purpose of collecting these biometric data. Ironically, even though it is claimed to be a platform that prioritizes security, Worldcoin is actually experiencing serious security breaches.
In 2023, there was a hack that resulted in the login credentials belonging to the Worldcoin operator being stolen. This condition allows hackers to access the company's internal information.
Santiago Siri, a board member of Proof of Humanity, sees the Worldcoin and World ID projects as a form of digital colonialism. He highlighted that the launch of Orb devices is mostly focused on developing countries whose privacy regulations have not been as strict as regions such as the European Union or the United States.
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Supervision of this project is also carried out by various global regulators. In some countries, Worldcoin is closely monitored. Data protection regulators in France, for example, are investigating the project on suspicion of opaque data collection. Regulators in the UK have also sent similar warnings.
In Kenya, the local government asked Worldcoin to stop data collection activities. In Indonesia, Worldcoin and World ID operations have also been frozen by the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs (Komdigi).
This is the review of getting to know World ID as a platform that has been viral and has drawn controversy lately.
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