The Kenyan High Court has deemed the operations of Sam Altman's Worldcoin Foundation unlawful, mandating the removal of biometric data gathered from Kenyan citizens within a week.
This decision, announced on May 5, 2025, follows Indonesia's suspension of the project due to regulatory infractions.
Kenya Court Orders Data Deletion Within Seven Days
Justice Aburili Roselyne issued three directives against Sam Altman's Worldcoin Foundation for breaching Kenya's Data Protection Act of 2019.
The Court mandated the foundation to erase all iris and facial biometric data gathered from Kenyan citizens.
The Data Protection Commissioner is responsible for supervising this process, which is required to be finalized within a week.
The Court determined that the data was acquired without a legitimate Data Protection Impact Assessment and concluded that the consent was invalid, as it was secured through financial incentives linked to Worldcoin's cryptocurrency.
“An order of Mandamus compelling the Worldcoin Foundation and its agents to permanently delete (under the supervision of the Data Protection Commissioner) within seven days any biometric data collected in Kenya.”
An additional directive forbade the foundation and its representatives from gathering, processing, or managing any biometric data within the nation.
A subsequent order revoked any previous authorizations permitting the company to collect or process such data.
Nevertheless, in spite of this restriction, Worldcoin has recently taken a positive step by launching $WLD ID in the United States, coinciding with Coinbase's intention to list the token.
Legal Challenge Led by Katiba Institute
The ruling of the Court comes in response to a legal challenge initiated by the Katiba Institute, a civil society organization based in Kenya.
This organization raised concerns regarding the legality of the data collection methods employed by Sam Altman's Worldcoin, which utilizes a digital application and biometric Orb devices.
They contended that the foundation did not adhere to the privacy protections stipulated in national legislation.
Following the ruling, the Katiba Institute stated,
“Today, Lady Justice Aburili Roselyne has allowed our Judicial Review Application, where we challenged the collection, processing, and transfer of iris and facial images using the Worldcoin App and the Orb against the Worldcoin Foundation.”
Worldcoin commenced its operations in Nairobi at the beginning of 2023, providing cryptocurrency valued at Ksh7,000 in return for biometric information.
However, the government suspended the registration process due to the significant influx of people at public locations, which raised alarms regarding security and privacy issues.
Worldcoin Also Faces Suspension in Indonesia
Just hours prior to the ruling in Kenya, Indonesia's Ministry of Communications and Digital (Komdigi) announced the suspension of Worldcoin's registration.
Officials pointed to suspicious activities and the engagement of unauthorized legal entities in digital services, despite intentions to incorporate Circle's USDC and CCTP V2.
Following the decisions made in both Kenya and Indonesia, the value of the Worldcoin token (WLD) experienced a decline of over 6% within a 24-hour period.
At the time of this report, the $WLD was trading at $0.8816 after reaching a peak of $0.9627 in the preceding 24 hours.
Furthermore, the open interest for WLD decreased by 5.15%, bringing it down to $219.42 million.
Komdigi indicated that the Worldcoin-affiliated company, PT Terang Bulan Abadi, was operating without a legitimate Electronic System Operator Certificate.
Additionally, it was discovered that another local partner, PT Sandina Abadi Nusantara, was reportedly involved in legal misrepresentation. According to Komdigi,
“Noncompliance with registration obligations and the use of the identity of another legal entity… is a serious violation.”
The ministry has announced that it will convene both local organizations for further clarification and has urged citizens to report any unregistered digital service providers.
Alexander Sabar, the director general for digital supervision, stated, 'We encourage the public to assist in ensuring a secure and reliable digital environment for all citizens.'
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