Worldcoin was a success in Kenya. Until the country paralyzes him with privacy issues

Kenya was one of the main markets for Worldcoin, a Sam Altman project, where tokens were regularly offered in exchange for iris registration. Over 350,000 users were registered in the country. However, now the local government has made a decision that completely affects the operation of this colorful and controversial application.

Kiture Kindiki, Kenya’s interior minister, confirmed that the administration forced to suspend the activities of Worldcoin in the countryfor reasons of their potential risk to public safety.

With the help of some metal balls, which are provided to users at certain locations selected by the company, users can register on the platform and receive Worldcoins. According to Reuters, users were able to receive about 7,000 Kenyan shillings, about 44.85 euros per change. This is a similar amount to what was distributed to users in markets such as Spain, where it is also available.

As the Kenyan authorities justify: “The relevant security, financial services and data protection agencies have initiated consultations and investigations to establish the authenticity and legality of the above activities.”

These doubts about the safety of Worldcoin are consistent with what has been published Kenya Data Protection Authority, operational since 2019. In a statement, the data protection regulator asked Worldcoin to properly explain how user data will be used.

The promise of Worldcoin attracted thousands of Kenyans who they stood in line for hours to register your iris and get tokens in return. Some tokens, which can then be exchanged for USDT and later, already on different exchanges, exchanged for Kenyan shillings.

Worldcoin is a project that promises to guarantee privacy, but iris registration is highly compromised biometric data. In addition to Kenya, which was the first to take measures to suspend Worldcoin, the Sam Altman project investigated by data protection agencies from France, UK and Germany.

As Xataka was confirmed by the Spanish Data Protection Agency, unlike some European countries, the AEPD has not received any complaints so far and is not investigating Worldcoin.

From Xataka, we contacted Worldcoin to get their position on the Kenyan government’s decision.

In Hatake | Worldcoin is already giving away money for registration. Sam Altman wants 2 billion people to sign up