Police raid Worldcoin’s warehouse in Nairobi

The Kenyan Worldcoin saga took a new twist on Saturday, August 5, when police raided the company's warehouse in Nairobi and seized several pieces of equipment and documents.

The details  

• Kenya’s Data Commissioner, Immaculate Kassait, justified the move by saying that Worldcoin and its parent company, Tools for Humanity failed to disclose their true intentions, Kahawatungu reports.
• This comes merely days after the Office of the Data Commissioner (ODPC) released a statement that Worldcoin failed to provide sufficient information on the usage of the data it collects.
• In addition, the ODPC accused Worldcoin of obtaining data from its users for money and upheld the suspension of Worldcoin's activities by the Kenyan government.
• The gadgets and equipment believed to store the data gathered by Worldcoin were seized from the warehouse and taken to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI). It is unknown if anyone was arrested at the time.

Key context

• Worldcoin, a blockchain-based digital ID company that went live in Kenya earlier this year, has been faced with growing concerns on the privacy and security of the data it collects from subscribers.
• Following a huge rush to sign up in Kenya, Kenyan authorities issued several warnings to Kenyans to be fully aware of how their data would be used before signing up.
• Last week, the Kenyan Ministry of Interior and National Administration directed that all activities of Worldcoin in Kenya be suspended until the government concludes its investigations.
• The ODPC also announced it is investigating the company’s compliance with Kenya’s Data Protection Act.
• However, a Kenyan cabinet secretary, Eliud Owalo, said that the Kenyan government had been aware of Worldcoin’s activities since April, adding that the company had corresponded with the ODPC.
• He added that while there could be security and regulatory issues surrounding Worldcoin’s activities, they had not broken any Kenyan laws since the law allowed for obtaining the personal data of individuals voluntarily.