Worldcoin a threat to Kenya’s statehood say lawmakers

Kenyan officials are stepping up their efforts to purge the East African nation of the Worldcoin project, accusing it of conducting espionage.

An ad hoc parliamentary committee is demanding Kenya’s IT regulator terminate digital ID and cryptocurrency-maker Worldcoin’s operations in the country immediately, until stronger rules can be enacted, according to Reuters news agency.

Quoting a report published by the committee, Reuters reported that Kenya should “disable the virtual platforms of Tools for Humanity Corp and Tools for Humanity GmbH Germany (Worldcoin) including blacklisting the IP addresses of related websites.”

Several nations have accepted the Worldcoin project, but others, like Kenya have not. There are inquiries in Argentina, India, Mexico, the United Kingdom and Germany, where the project is based.

Reuters reported August 31 that CNIL, France’s digital-business watchdog, has rifled through Worldcoin’s offices in Paris to see how its cryptocurrency operations are holding up.

Worldcoin executives claim that 2.3 million have enrolled in its iris biometrics-secured World ID globally since the project’s July launch. CEO Alex Blania has been out front in the marketing blitz, telling reporters that there are 1.7 million monthly active users of the company’s wallet, called the World app.

Weeks after the launch, Kenya officials suspected Worldcoin citing concerns about requiring people to have their iris biometrics scanned for inclusion in a digital ID.

That Blania gives applicants a token sum in Worldcoin only raises more questions among legislators. In fact, some see that practice as inducement. They have authorized the police to investigate Tools for Humanity, according to the news service.

The committee, according to the International Business Times, has called the project “acts of espionage and a threat to statehood.”

Article Topics

Africa  |  cryptocurrency  |  digital ID  |  iris biometrics  |  Kenya  |  World  |  World ID