Sam Altman’s World project hit with suspension in Indonesia over alleged regulatory violations

Indonesia's Ministry of Communication and Digital has suspended the operating permit of World, formerly known as Worldcoin and co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, following public reports of suspicious activity involving Worldcoin and World ID.

In a statement released Sunday, the digital ministry said that it would summon the world's local operators, PT. Terang Bulan Abadi and PT. Sandina Abadi Nusantara, for clarification regarding alleged violations of electronic system operation regulations.

"This suspension is a preventive step to mitigate potential risks to the public," Alexander Sabar, the ministry's director general for digital supervision, said in a translated statement.

The ministry’s preliminary investigation found that PT. Terang Bulan Abadi is not registered as an electronic system operator and does not hold a valid operating permit as required by law. The agency also found that the project was operating under a permit registered to a different legal entity, according to the statement.

"Noncompliance with registration obligations and the use of another legal entity’s identity to run a digital service constitutes a serious violation," the official said in the statement.

"World has voluntarily paused its proof of human verification services in Indonesia and is seeking clarification on the terms of the relevant licenses and permits," a spokesperson of Tools for Humanity, the main developer of World, told The Block. "We look forward to continuing the constructive and supportive conversations we’ve had over the past year with the government ministries concerned. If there are any shortcomings or misunderstandings with our permits we will certainly address them."

The controversy in Indonesia follows Worldcoin’s recent announcement of its U.S. expansion. The project revealed last week that Americans will be able to receive WLD tokens in exchange for verifying their identity and creating a World ID. The U.S. launch will begin in six cities — Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville and San Francisco.

World’s launches in other countries have frequently sparked concerns over data privacy and protection.

Update: Added comment from Tools for Humanity