Amazon and Worldcoin Sued in Brazil Over Iris Data Collection
São Paulo prosecutors sue Tools for Humanity and Amazon AWS for R$240 million over alleged abusive biometric iris scanning of 400,000 people.
The São Paulo Public Prosecutor's Office (MP-SP) has filed a civil lawsuit seeking at least R$ 240 million ($43 million USD) in collective moral damages against Tools for Humanity, the developer behind the Worldcoin (WLD) project, and Amazon Web Services (AWS). The lawsuit alleges abusive and non-consensual biometric iris scanning of over 400,000 economically vulnerable individuals in the city of São Paulo in exchange for cryptocurrency tokens.
According to the civil action, which stems from a local municipal inquiry, the Worldcoin project deliberately targeted high-traffic peripheral areas to scan citizens' eyes using its "Orb" devices, offering financial incentives ranging from R$ 300 to R$ 700. Prosecutors argue this practice exploited socioeconomic vulnerability, lacked clear consent regarding international data transfers, and violated Brazil's General Data Protection Law (LGPD). The lawsuit demands an immediate, permanent halt to new collections and the irreversible deletion of all previously harvested biometric data in Brazil.
For global investors looking to invest in Brazil, this legal challenge highlights escalating regulatory and compliance risks under the country's stringent data privacy laws. Crucially, the inclusion of Amazon AWS (AMZN) in the lawsuit—due to its role as the cloud infrastructure provider hosting the biometric data—signals that third-party service providers are no longer shielded from local regulatory crosshairs. This development could impact foreign sentiment toward Brazilian ADR tickers and B3 stocks, as global tech companies face heightened scrutiny.
In response to the lawsuit, AWS stated that its terms of service strictly require clients to comply with all applicable local laws and that it acts quickly to disable prohibited content when violations are reported. Meanwhile, local cryptocurrency markets continue to trade actively, with Bitcoin priced at BTC/BRL 331,743 and Ethereum at ETH/BRL 9,737.38, amid ongoing volatility in the USD/BRL exchange rate.