I should have said "sketchy" instead of "shady", as "shady" implies a criminality I don't mean to imply.

What's sketchy about it is that they were offering money to largely poor and technologically naive populations in exchange for gathering very sensitive biometric data from them. Identifying data that cannot be changed and can be used to track them without their knowledge. Their stated goal is to have every person on Earth take part, to boot. The whole idea couldn't set off more alarm bells if it tried.

I give them style points for using truly dystopian-looking "orbs" to do it, though.