Worldcoin (WLD) faces regulatory lashback by Kenya’s high court, which ordered the firm to erase all the biometric data it gathered from locals. Worldcoin, co-founded by OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, is on a mission to create WorldID by gathering human’ identifiers.
Court blocked Worldcoin from further data gathering
According to Monday’s ruling held in Kenya’s high court in Nairobi, Lady Justice Aburil Roselyne ordered the World Foundation to delete users’ info. The data carries users’ personal information and biometrics, including images, irises, and faces. Additionally, she prohibited the company from further collection of locals’ information. The justice opined such activities violate the privacy rights Kenya offers to its people. The judge ordered the deletion of users’ data within a week under the oversight of a data protection officer.
It happened a day after Indonesia canceled Worldcoin’s local operating certification after the surging community reports. However, Kenya’s lawsuit is brought by the non-governmental organization (NGO) Katiba Institute and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The Justice also issued an order of certiorari to dismiss the World’s decision to collect data without data protection measures. Regulators criticized Worldcoin for collecting biometrics without users’ consent and a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), required by Kenyan law.
While agreeing with the court’s decision, ICJ commented in a statement:
The judgment rightly underscores that even in the digital age, constitutional rights especially the right to privacy under Article 31 of the Constitution must be upheld,
Worldcoin plans to expand while legal troubles emerge
Contrary to the regulatory backlash World faces in Kenya and Indonesia, the firm launched in the U.S. last week. As part of its expansion, the company aims to initially launch in six cities, including Austin, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Nashville.
World’s native token, WLD/USD, has lost 7.64% of its value in the last 24 hours, currently trading at $0.88. According to CoinMarketCap, the crypto project’s total market capitalization sits at $1.18 billion at the time.
