According to Decrypt, the Kenyan court has ordered the digital identity project World Network, co-founded by OpenAI founder Sam Altman, to delete all biometric data collected in Kenya, further raising concerns about the data collection practices of this cryptocurrency startup.
World Network was co-founded by Altman and Alex Blania, verifying individual identities through specially manufactured iris scanning devices. Users who complete the verification will receive a "World ID" and the project's native token, WLD.
The Nairobi High Court ruled on Monday that World and its agents collected sensitive biometric data without valid consent from the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) and obtained this data through cryptocurrency as an incentive, violating the principle of informed consent.
Joshua Malidzo Nyawa, a lawyer from the NGO Katiba Institute that brought the lawsuit, called the ruling a "major victory for privacy rights in Kenya," stating:
"Privacy is a right granted by the constitution, and failure to follow procedural norms, such as conducting a data privacy impact assessment, could constitute a violation. Consent given after accepting incentives, money, or cryptocurrency is not free and therefore illegal."
The court ordered the World Foundation and its agents to delete all collected biometric data within seven days under the supervision of the ODPC. The court also prohibited the foundation from collecting or processing relevant data without proper assessment and without obtaining lawful, non-coercive consent.
World claims that World ID is a "privacy-first" identity verification solution, emphasizing local data storage and encryption protection. However, regulators around the world remain skeptical. Last week, World was asked to suspend operations in Indonesia, with regulators stating that the company was not registered according to the law and might be involved in "serious violations" of local laws. Enforcement actions have also been taken against it in places like Hong Kong, Germany, and Brazil due to data privacy issues.
Despite struggling in the international market, World is still trying to develop in the United States. Earlier this month, World announced it had opened registrations in six cities: Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco, where users can verify their identities and establish a World ID to receive WLD tokens. World also plans to launch a cryptocurrency Visa card that will connect directly to users' World App wallets, allowing users to easily use WLD tokens and other crypto assets for payments at merchants worldwide that accept Visa.
Related reports: (Worldcoin rebranded as World Network, Layer 2 network World Chain launches mainnet) (Sam Altman-supported iris recognition project World announces entry into the US market and will issue a crypto Visa card)
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