Lucknow(CoinChapter.com): In a recent development, Kenyan police raided the Nairobi warehouse of identity and cryptocurrency protocol Worldcoin on Saturday, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. As reported by local news organizations, the police seized documents and machines to investigate the company’s data practices.
“The officers backed by multi-agency officials went to the offices along Mombasa Road armed with a search warrant and broke in Saturday before leaving with machines they believe store data gathered by the firm,” Kahawatungu reported.
The raid was reportedly carried out under the supervision of Immaculate Kassait, the Data Protection Commissioner. According to media outlet Kahawatungu, Kassait stated that Tools for Humanity, the parent company of Worldcoin, failed to disclose its true intentions during registration.
Ministry Suspends Worldcoin’s Operations, Other Countries Investigating
Last week, the Ministry of the Interior suspended Worldcoin’s operations in Kenya.
However, in April, Kenya’s Minister for the Digital Economy, Eliud Owalo, initially claimed that the Office of Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) had found Worldcoin’s activities compliant with data protection laws.
Subsequently, the ODPC issued a statement expressing “legitimate regulatory concerns” after a preliminary review. Authorities in the U.K., France, and Germany are also investigating the project.
Kenyan police took the seized data to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations headquarters for analysis. Despite the raid, the Worldcoin token (WLD) value remained unchanged at $2.07 over 24 hours, as per data from CoinMarketCap.
The raid and subsequent investigation have raised questions about data privacy and using iris scans for user verification. With the involvement of government authorities and international interests, the future of Worldcoin’s operations remains uncertain.
As the situation unfolds, regulatory authorities and the public will closely monitor developments in the ongoing investigation.
