Kenyan MPs want proof of biometric data deletion claim by World

Some members of Kenya’s National Assembly expect to get concrete proof from the government about full compliance with a court order after World was told to delete all biometric data it collected from more than 300,000 citizens in the country.

Early this month, a High Court in Nairobi ruled that World’s collection of iris and facial biometrics from Kenyans in exchange for World tokens, was in violation of the country’s personal data protection laws.

The judge, Justice Roselyne Aburili, said among other things in the judgement, that World, formerly Worldcoin, failed to conduct a data protection impact assessment and to register as a data processor before commencing its operations in Kenya.

The judgement directed that all the data be deleted within a period of seven days, with the country’s Data Protection Commissioner Immaculate Kassait supervising the process.

In the wake of the judgement, the Kenyan government disclosed that it had received an affidavit from World claiming all biometric data it collected in the country had actually been deleted in 2023.

However, lawmakers want the government and data protection oversight bodies to make sure the company has indeed fully and transparently complied with the court order, The Star reports.

Recently when lawmakers of the Committee on Communication, Information and Innovation met with officials of the Ministry of Communications and Digital economy and the Data Protection Commission, they sought to know if World had already complied with the court order to delete the data they are holding. They also wanted to get answers on who exactly is responsible for ensuring the deletion and verifying it.

The MPs were told of World’s claim of having deleted the data two years ago, but equally got assurances that efforts were underway to independently verify if the company’s claims are true.

World had come under scrutiny in Kenya, as it has in many other countries, over the collection of biometric data from citizens, with concerns about privacy intrusion and data security.

It began its operations in Kenya in 2022. In 2023, lawmakers raised serious concerns over its activities, arguing that they pose serious threat to the country’s sovereignty. At one point, officials banned its activities, before later allowing them to resume.

Early this year, World reported 10 million signups to its network.

Article Topics

biometric data  |  biometrics  |  data protection  |  face biometrics  |  iris biometrics  |  Kenya  |  World