Worldcoin: Kenya Halts Sam Altman’s Crypto Project Citing Privacy Concerns

Worldcoin's local operations in Kenya have been put on hold while authorities evaluate potential hazards to the public's data safety.

Launched last week, the crypto project requires users to give their iris scans in exchange for a digital ID, and in some countries users also get free cryptocurrency as part of plans to create a new "identity and financial network".

In light of the "lack of clarity on the security and storage of the iris scans", the Communications Authority of Kenya has said that it will assess Worldcoin for authenticity and legality.

Worldcoin has said that it would take the time of suspension to work with authorities to boost understanding of privacy measures it has in place in Kenya and elsewhere, Reuters reported.

Since its launch, Worldcoin has been shrouded in scepticism. France’s privacy watchdog CNIL had said that legality of the biometric data collection of the crypto project “seems questionable”.

The Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision, Germany, also started investigating Worldcoin in November 2022 because of concerns that the project seeks to process “sensitive data at a very large scale”.