{"id":29395,"date":"2023-08-02T10:25:15","date_gmt":"2023-08-02T10:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/02\/kenya-suspends-worldcoin-scans-over-security-privacy-and-financial-concerns-techcrunch\/"},"modified":"2023-08-02T10:25:15","modified_gmt":"2023-08-02T10:25:15","slug":"kenya-suspends-worldcoin-scans-over-security-privacy-and-financial-concerns-techcrunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/entertainment.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2023\/08\/02\/kenya-suspends-worldcoin-scans-over-security-privacy-and-financial-concerns-techcrunch\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenya suspends Worldcoin scans over security, privacy and financial concerns | TechCrunch"},"content":{"rendered":"


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Kenya was one of the first countries where Worldcoin \u2014 the controversial startup that aims to create a new \u201chuman identity and financial network\u201d through eye scans and its own cryptocurrency \u2014 launched sign-ups and as of this week, it was one of the biggest markets for take-up. Now, Kenya could be one of the first to ban it outright.<\/p>\n

The country\u2019s Ministry of the Interior has issued a decree suspending Worldcoin enrollment in the country, citing concerns with the \u201cauthenticity and legality\u201d of its activities in the areas of security, financial services and data protection. The suspension covers both Worldcoin and \u201cany other entity that may be similarly engaging the people of Kenya\u201d and will remain in place until the authorities determine \u201cthe absence of any risks to the general public whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Up until today, Kenya had one of the largest footprints of venues \u2014 at least 18, according to the company\u2019s directory<\/a> last week \u2014 where you could visit an \u201cOrb\u201d, as the company\u2019s spherical and mirrored iris-scanners are called, \u201cand verify your World ID.\u201d Now there is only one listed \u2014 after\u00a0Orb operators overwhelmed by the huge turnout, shifted their stations on Sunday to Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), a bigger ground in Kenya\u2019s capital, to accommodate thousands of people streaming in.<\/span><\/p>\n

(In our direct experience, the list is a little unreliable anyway. In the UK, one of the other countries where regulators are looking<\/a> into Worldcoin\u2019s privacy and security, three venues were listed in London last week at launch, including one, curiously, in a coffee hut in Kensington Gardens adjacent to Hyde Park. That disappeared after the first day and eventually one of the other locations did, too. Now there is only one in operation.)<\/p>\n

\u201cRelevant security, financial service and data protection agencies have commenced inquiries and investigations to establish the authenticity and legality of the aforesaid activities, and the safety and protection of the data being harvested, and how the harvesters intend to use the data,\u201d said Kithure Kindiki, Kenya\u2019s cabinet secretary for the ministry of interior and national administration.<\/p>\n

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Authorities dispersed thousands of Kenyans who had lined up at the Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC) yesterday to register for the Worldcoin cryptocurrency projecthttps:\/\/t.co\/X14TdnFxyT<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Standard Digital (@StandardKenya) August 2, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

We have reached out to Worldcoin for comment and will update this story with any response.<\/p>\n

Worldcoin, co-founded by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and currently valued at over $2 billion, has raised over $500 million to create a \u201cproof-of-personhood\u201d network.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s doing this by registering \u201cverified humans\u201d through the scanning of eyeballs by way of its Orbs, and it\u2019s been luring users to come in for scans by offering them \u201cfree\u201d crypto tokens in exchange. Tools for Humanity, the team building Worldcoin, is said to be creating an app that will link up with these global IDs, using Worldcoin tokens for payments, purchases and transfers, alongside other cryptocurrencies and fiat-backed stablecoins.<\/p>\n

What is not clear is how the suspension order today will impact the fact that there are now a lot of Worldcoin tokens in circulation in Kenya, which are now being traded around.<\/p>\n

The coins have quickly become a part of the grey market that surrounds cryptocurrency especially in emerging economies, which sits far outside the authority of regulators, tax collectors and other government bodies.<\/p>\n

After the global official launch last week<\/a>, locals that had received the tokens could sell them for USDT (the stablecoin pegged to the US dollar) on crypto exchanges, or to \u201cbrokers\u201d in exchange for cash. In Kenya, that promise of \u201cfree money\u201d quickly spread across the country, leading to an influx of people at the recruitment (Orb) stations, which is what started to draw the attention of government agencies.<\/p>\n

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Kenyans queue at KICC in the Nairobi CBD to scan their eyeballs in return for Worldcoin cryptocurrency tokens valued at about Sh7,700. pic.twitter.com\/yFkxknJenX<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nation Africa (@NationAfrica) August 1, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

It\u2019s worth asking why the authorities didn\u2019t think of this eventuality, or any of the privacy and security implications, before allowing Worldcoin to establish operations in the country in the first place. Kenya \u2014 along with Chile, Indonesia, France and Sudan \u2014 was one of the first countries to pilot the registration service back in 2021<\/a>. Regardless, it is now looking at it with clearer eyes: Kindiki says that the suspension is critical for public safety and the integrity of the financial transactions.<\/p>\n

The suspension should not come as too much of a surprise: just days ago, the country\u2019s office of the Data Commissioner said it was already conducting an assessment of Worldcoin\u2019s practices in Kenya to ensure compliance with the country\u2019s laws.<\/p>\n

Along with the many issues that skeptical peers in the technology industry<\/a> have been raising about the Worldcoin project and its bigger business ambitions, there are growing concerns about how those efforts to build a biometric database using the promise of free cryptocurrency have exploited economically-disadvantaged people. Again, some of these issues have been there in plain sight for people to see. An MIT Review<\/a> investigation \u2014 published last year \u2014 found that it \u201cused deceptive marketing practices, was collecting more personal data than it acknowledged, and failed to obtain meaningful informed consent.\u201d<\/p>\n

Worldcoin registration is currently ongoing in 35 cities, and the company is on its way to crossing 3 million users, after enrolling over half a million people in the last seven days.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n