Photo Credit:BBC
The Kenya High Court has ordered Worldcoin Foundation to permanently delete all biometric data collected from Kenyans within seven days, citing serious violations of the Data Protection Act, 2019. The ruling, delivered on Monday, stated that the company’s collection and processing of iris and facial scans through the Worldcoin App and its biometric scanning device, the Orb, wereillegal and breached the constitutional right to privacy.
This case, filed in the public interest by Katiba Institute as the lead petitioner and with ICJ Kenya (International Commission of Jurists – Kenyan Section) as an interested party, challenged the legality of WorldCoin’s operations in Kenya. The court issued three decisive orders: A prohibition order restraining Worldcoin Foundation and its agents from further collecting, processing, or dealing in biometric data without first conducting a proper Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA), as mandated under Section 31 of the Data Protection Act. The court also found that the consent obtained from Kenyans was invalid, having been induced through offers of cryptocurrency. A certiorari order quashing the decision by Worldcoin to collect and process biometric data in Kenya based on an inadequate DPIA and improperly obtained consent.
A mandamus ordered Worldcoin to delete all biometric data previously collected in Kenya within seven days, under the direct supervision of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.The decision follows months of public concern and legal scrutiny over Worldcoin’s data collection,practices in Kenya.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) and civil society organisations had earlier raised red flags about the legality and ethical implications of Worldcoin's operations, especially in vulnerable communities
where individuals may have felt compelled to share personal data in exchange for financial incentives. Notably, the cryptocurrency was also dealt another blow after authorities in Indonesia announced on Monday, May 5, that they had also suspended Worldcoin operations. Worldcoin’s World ID operations have also been suspended in other countries, including Spain and Hong Kong. The Kenyan government decided to suspend Worldcoin operations in the country in 2023.