According to local media reports, the Kenyan Data Protection Agency has filed a lawsuit in the Kenyan High Court, asking Worldcoin to compel Worldcoin to protect and store data collected from Kenyans until the investigation is completed.
The lawsuit ignores an earlier order for the Sam Altman-backed cryptocurrency project to stop collecting unique personal data from the Kenya Data Protection Commissioner’s Office (ODPC) months before it was suspended. It happened while things were being exposed.
On August 2, Kenyan Home Minister Kisle Kindik said: stopped All Worldcoin activities are intended to give governments time to investigate potential risks to public safety. At the time, more than 350,000 Kenyans were reportedly registered with Worldcoin.
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Scan your iris for “better things”?
According to a report from Bitcoin KE, ODPC has also asked Worldcoin to stop processing the data collected. The lawsuit is part of an ongoing investigation by multiple agencies to explore the safety, privacy and legality of collecting biometric data in exchange for money, the paper said.
In an affidavit to the East African country’s High Court, ODPC’s deputy data commissioner for compliance, Oscar Otieno, said:
“The Applicant acknowledges that the Respondents have continued to process their personal data despite the ceasing and instructions to cease processing of their personal data.”
“It required an official order from the Ministry of Home Affairs and Coordination to suspend the activities of the respondents.” [Tools for Humanity and Sense Marketing]declared Otieno. Germany-based Tools for Humanity is the software company behind Worldcoin.
Founded on July 24th, Worldcoin promises to give people free money in exchange for iris scans. The company has built a device called Orb that it uses to scan your eyeballs to obtain a unique biometric identifier. The goal is to create a digital world identity that distinguishes humans from AI.
The company has opened registration sites in 34 countries where people can scan their irises. so far, world coin has scanned the irises of over 2.24 million users worldwide. However, the project has run into problems in several countries, including the UK, France and Germany.
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Kenyan regulators ‘misplaced’
Worldcoin is reeling from fraud and privacy allegations in Kenya, Quartz report Early this month. New users were targeted by scammers who offered to buy Worldcoin Tokens (WLD) for cash, but at a valuation that was lower than their actual value.
Kenyans who had their irises scanned received about 25 WLD tokens, worth about $60 at the time. However, many new users had limited knowledge of how Worldcoin worked, so they sold cryptocurrency rewards to scammers for as low as $7 per song, the report said. says.
Ultimately, Kenyan Home Minister Kisle Kindik said he feared Worldcoin was collecting biometric data without proper consent and explanation, putting people’s privacy at risk, and warned that Worldcoin’s operation stopped.
David Gitonga, a cryptocurrency analyst and editor of the online publication BitcoinKE, said that while ODPC “can stop Worldcoin’s activities,” data security lawsuits against the company may be premised on ignorance. said there is.
“I believe [the lawsuit] The lack of understanding about Worldcoin has led me a bit astray,” he told Metanews.
Gitonga accused ODPC of “raiding” Worldcoin’s local offices and accusing the company of “collecting data using financial incentives…and this is a crime.” He added that Kenyans were “very keen” to get Worldcoin money for free because they “have no choice”.
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Worldcoin ignores authority
In May, the Data Protection Commission asked Worldcoin to stop collecting iris scans and personal and unique information from Kenyans. But the company ignored the order and continued collecting biometric data, says TechCrunch report.
In a letter to lawyers representing Tools for Humanity, OPDC said: “Your clients are hereby instructed to stop collecting all facial recognition data and iris scans from your subscribers.”
“This suspension should be implemented without delay and should include all current and future data processing activities.”
Worldcoin will cease operations for the first time in August following the intervention of Home Minister Kindik. The Worldcoin Foundation previously founded a non-profit organization called Worldcoin. Said Reuters said the project was “designed to protect individual privacy and has built a strong privacy program.”
The Foundation said it “complies with all laws and regulations governing the processing of personal data in markets where Worldcoin is available.”
According to the article, Worldcoin’s WLD token is up 2.3% to $1.51 at the time of writing. Coin Gecko. The token has lost almost half of its value since its launch. To date, Worldcoin has issued 26.44 million WLD tokens worth approximately $40 million.
