Kenya drops probe into Worldcoin after 2023 suspension

Kenya has dropped the probe against Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency project by U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI whose operations the government suspended last year.

The crypto project co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was suspended in Kenya on August 2, 2023, over data security concerns amid a hysterical uptake in the capital Nairobi.

Worldcoin representatives appeared before Parliament for questioning about the security of the biodata the company was collecting from Kenyans.

A June 14 letter from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to Coulson Harney LLP, the project’s lawyers, says the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had directed that the case file be closed.

“The DCI expeditiously and objectively investigated an array of allegations into the activities Worldcoin in Kenya in 2022/3 and touching on alleged unlawful collection and transfer of personal sensitive data. The resultant investigation file was forwarded to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for an independent review and advice,” it reads.

“Upon review of the file, the Director of Public Prosecutions concurred and directed that the file be closed with no further police action.”

Moving forward, the investigative agency advised Worldcoin to ensure it registers with the Registrar of Business Registry and acquire licensing from the Office of the Data Protection Commission (ODPC) and the Communication Authority of Kenya (CAK).

“Ensure Intensive vetting and legal contracting of all third-party vendors within the country,” added the DCI.

In December, government sources told Citizen Digital that an agreement had been reached to allow Worldcoin to resume Kenyan operations under new guidelines.

The Worldcoin project rolled out globally on June 24, 2023.

But despite its ambitions of a decentralised global currency, the project was met with privacy concerns and questions about the security of the biodata the company was collecting from Kenyans.

The verification process involved scanning eyeballs through an Orb in exchange for a digital identity called World ID.

The concerns were heightened by the fact that new members were getting 25 free cryptocurrency tokens known as WLD after the verification, valued at Ksh.8,256 at the time.

The government stopped all activities associated with the crypto project until relevant agencies certify the absence of any security risks.

Following the Worldcoin's suspension, Alex Blania, the project’s CEO who co-founded it with Altman, said they and Tools For Humanity (TFH) were pausing World ID verifications in Kenya to address the government’s concerns while optimistic about resuming operations in the country.

TFH is the Germany-based global hardware and software company which led the initial development of the Worldcoin protocol.

“TFH has paused World ID verifications in Kenya as we continue to work with local regulators to address their questions. We apologize to everyone in Kenya for the delay,” Blania said last August.

“World ID is built for privacy. We look forward to resuming operations while continuing global rollout.”

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki told the Senate last September that the government was conducting a forensic analysis of the hardware components used to collect data from Kenyans for the project.

The security minister said he had yet to be convinced that Worldcoin activities were safe because the company was operating without clearance from the government.

“Citizen data is a sovereignty issue. They harvested data here operating outside the law. I know I run the risk of being told I’m standing in the way of commerce but as a security manager, I need to know who is behind any crypto the source of their investment and who is doing what because if we allow anything that will harm the people of Kenya I will be asked,” he said.

Tools For Humanity had just two weeks prior revealed they had been scanning people’s irises in Nairobi and other Kenyan urban centres since 2021 when they were piloting the project.

At the start of September, Worldcoin said over 635,000 Kenyans had downloaded the crypto app, although 345,000 had not yet verified their identities by scanning their irises.

Worldcoin also came under scrutiny in Europe for running afoul of strict General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) in EU member states.

The United Kingdom’s Information Commission Office last year said it would be “making enquiries” about Worldcoin, while France's privacy watchdog CNIL said the legality of the project’s biometric data collection "seems questionable."