Kenya announces first global ban on domestic Worldcoin physical activities, related departments investigating
Worldcoin, with the aura of OpenAI co-founder Sam Altman, is under scrutiny for privacy concerns as it seeks adoption for its project. Kenya has become the first country to temporarily ban the operation of Worldcoin.
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Kenya: Investigating Worldcoin
The Kenyan Ministry of Interior posted a 4-point statement on Facebook:
The government is closely monitoring the activities of an organization calling itself "WORLD COIN," which is collecting iris data for citizen registration.
Relevant institutions such as security, financial services, and data protection have begun investigations to verify the authenticity and legality of these activities, including the security and cyber situation of the data collection, and how the organization intends to use the data.
The organization must meet public safety and financial transaction integrity requirements involving the public.
Therefore, the government has immediately suspended "WORLD COIN" and any other entities that may have similar contact with Kenyan citizens.
Germany and France Investigating Worldcoin
According to CoinDesk, the Bavarian Data Protection Office in Germany has announced that they have started an investigation into Worldcoin.
Prior to this, the French National Data Protection Commission CNIL stated to Fortune magazine on July 28 that there seem to be issues with Worldcoin's biometric data collection and storage, and the commission is currently investigating.
Review: Worldcoin | French Privacy Regulatory Authority Investigating, Latest Audit Report Reveals Nearly Thirty Agreement Flaws