Jakarta. The Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs has temporarily suspended the operations of Worldcoin and World ID services following public reports of suspicious activity related to biometric data collection.

Tools for Humanity (TFH), the US-based company behind Worldcoin and World ID, launched its digital ID verification project in Indonesia on Feb. 12. The initiative aims to distinguish between humans and AI-generated entities by scanning users' irises.

The ministry said it would summon two companies linked to the services, Terang Bulan Abadi and Sandina Abadi Nusantara, for further clarification. Preliminary findings revealed that Terang Bulan Abadi is not registered as an electronic system provider, while Worldcoin’s services allegedly operated under a different legal entity, Sandina Abadi Nusantara.

“This suspension is a preventive measure to protect the public from potential risks,” said Alexander Sabar, Director General of Digital Space Oversight at the ministry, in a statement Friday. “We will soon summon Terang Bulan Abadi for an official explanation.”

Sabar said operating under another entity’s registration constitutes a serious violation under Indonesian regulations, specifically Government Regulation No. 71/2019 and Communication Ministry Regulation No. 10/2021, which require all digital platforms in Indonesia to register and be accountable for their operations.

“We urge the public to report suspicious digital services through official complaint channels,” he added.

The suspension follows viral videos showing long queues outside Worldcoin outlets across Greater Jakarta, including locations on Jalan Raya Narogong in Bekasi and Jalan Raya Margonda in Depok. Residents were reportedly offered Rp 800,000 ($50) worth of Worldcoin cryptocurrency in exchange for retina scans.

World has voluntarily suspended its services in Indonesia and is currently seeking clarity regarding the relevant permit and licensing requirements, Tools for Humanity said in its statement.

In a February interview with The Jakarta Globe at the State Secretariat Office in Central Jakarta, Damien Kieran, TFH’s Chief Legal and Privacy Officer, said the project uses iris-scanning technology to generate a unique digital identity stored on users’ smartphones. He stressed that the data is anonymized and deleted immediately after processing.

“We use advanced security and privacy technologies to generate a unique, anonymous code based on a person’s iris scan. Users retain all personal data on their devices, and we do not store any of it,” Kieran said.

TFH co-founder Alex Blania and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman envision Worldcoin as a solution to online identity fraud, financial exclusion, voting security, and bot proliferation on platforms like X (formerly Twitter).

While TFH says it has engaged with Indonesian authorities since October 2024, the project has yet to receive formal approval.

The company is facing increasing scrutiny worldwide. Brazil’s data protection agency recently banned TFH from compensating users for iris scans, while South Korea’s privacy commission fined the company more than $830,000 for data protection violations.

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