Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency and digital identity project co-founded by the president, has completed
Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency and digital identity project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has scored a major victory in Kenya after receiving a suspension order in 2023.
According to an official statement from the Criminal Investigation Department (DCI) of the National Police Service, the Kenyan police have dropped their investigation into Worldcoin.
The statement issued on June 14, 2024 responded to a request for an update from Worldcoin’s lawyers regarding the status of the investigation filed in May 2024. According to DCI, the Kenyan Public Prosecution Service agreed and ordered closure of the Worldcoin affair without further police action. .
“DCI promptly and objectively investigated a series of allegations relating to Worldcoin’s activities in Kenya in 2022/3 and addressed the illegal collection and transfer of sensitive personal data,” the authority wrote.
At the end of the investigation, the Kenyan police recommended that Worldcoin ensure companies are registered in the country and obtained appropriate licensing coordinated by the Office of the Data Protection Commission and the Data Protection Authority. communications from Kenya. Furthermore, the authority advised ensuring thorough monitoring and legal contracts for all third-party suppliers in Kenya.
Tools for Humanity hopes to bring Worldcoin to Kenya
“We are grateful for DCI’s fair investigation and the DPP’s determination to bring the matter to an end,” said Thomas Scott, legal director of developer Worldcoin Tools for Humanity.
In a statement to Cointelegraph, Scott expressed optimism about Worldcoin’s future operations in Kenya, saying:
“However, this welcome result is not the end but the beginning. We will continue to work with the Government of Kenya and others and hope to resume universal registration of ID cards across the country soon.
The Worldcoin project was officially launched in July 2023, after three years of development. Worldcoin’s mission is to provide the tools needed to differentiate humans from artificial intelligence by scanning an individual’s IRIS, which stands for Intelligent Retrieval Information System. Once verification is complete, Worldcoin issues a global identifier, allowing individuals to prove they are real humans online.
Worldcoin’s unique digital identity offering has sparked concerns from global regulators over user privacy and data protection.
about: Ilya Sutskever, former chief scientist at OpenAI, launched the SSI initiative to focus on AI security.
Within weeks of its launch, Worldcoin was banned in Kenya, with the local government halting all local activities associated with the platform, including biometric identification. Worldcoin later said it was working with the Kenyan government to resume operations in 2024.
Worldcoin faces problems worldwide due to privacy concerns
Kenya is not the only jurisdiction to have had problems with Worldcoin so far. A number of other countries, including India, South Korea, Germany and Brazil, were also investigating the company’s data collection practices. In May 2024, Worldcoin was ordered to cease operations in Hong Kong due to privacy violations.
Despite a rocky start in some countries, the Worldcoin network has grown significantly since its launch. As of April 2024, Worldcoin’s World app has 10 million registered users, an average of 2 million daily users and over 5 million monthly active users.
For more information, stay tuned for the next episode of the program Decentralize with the Cointelegraph podcast We spoke with Tools for Humanity, a major contributor to Worldcoin, to better understand the project and its mission.
review: Polkadot Indy 500 driver Connor Daly: “My dad has a DOT, how crazy is that?”
