Kenyan authorities raided the Nairobi warehouse of Worldcoin over the weekend, leading to the confiscation of documents and equipment. The officers, supported by various agencies, entered the premises with a search warrant and seized equipment believed to hold data collected by the firm, media reports said.
The Ministry of the Interior had earlier suspended Worldcoin’s operations in Kenya, while the digital economy minister, Eliud Owalo, had initially expressed alignment between Worldcoin’s activities and the country’s data protection laws. However, the Office of Data Protection Commissioner later issued a statement acknowledging “legitimate regulatory concerns” after a preliminary review.
Notably, regulatory bodies in the United Kingdom, France, and Germany are also scrutinizing the Worldcoin project. Despite these developments, Worldcoin has not yet responded to requests for comments. As of the latest data on CoinMarketCap, the value of Worldcoin’s token (WLD) remains stable at $2.07 over a 24-hour period.
Immaculate Kassait, the head of Kenya’s Office of the Data Protection, asserted that Tools for Humanity, the parent company of Worldcoin, had not been forthright about its true motives during its registration in Kenya. This revelation has triggered an investigation into the matter, with law enforcement taking Worldcoin’s data to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters for further examination.
Worldcoin is co-founded by Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI and a renowned tech entrepreneur. The venture aims to revolutionize internet user verification through iris scans, AI, and zero-knowledge proofs. Verified users stand to receive Worldcoin tokens as grants. The protocol also enables developers to create applications atop this identification system, incorporating a wallet for distributing the Worldcoin token.
