Worldcoin has suffered a blow after the High Court ordered deletion of data it collected from Kenyans in 2023. Justice Roselyne Aburili while delivering her judgement today said the controversial biometric data collection exercise led by the crypto-based identification project Worldcoin was conducted without adherence to Kenya’s data protection laws

She said Worldcoin used financial inducements to obtain the data from Kenyans instead of applying the data protection principle of informed consent. This, the judge said was illegal, unconstitutional, and a gross violation of privacy rights. 

"There was lack of the data protection principle of informed consent, instead there was financial inducement, " the judge said.

The judge ordered Worldcoin to delete all the Kenyans Biometric data it unlawfully collected via its orb with immediate effect.

She also prohibited the company from further processing of such data without an adequate data protection impact assessment in place, or in lieu, valid consent. 

In her judgement, Justice Aburili directed the state sto publish guidelines on the commercial use of personal data.

The judgment comes few months after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga ordered the closure of the Worldcoin inquiry with no police action after months of probe. 

This directive paved the way for its return to operations across the country.

Initially, the National Assembly Ad Committee of Inquiry into the Worldcoin operations heard that the crypto wallet app came into Kenya disguised as a research project.

Presenting its views amid investigations into the controversial Worldcoin operations in Kenya, the National Computer and Cybercrimes Coordination Committee (NCCCC) told the parliamentary committee that Worldcoin registered as a data controller in Kenya, allowing the company to determine how to use the collected data in the country. 

"We have noted obvious breaches of our data protection laws," the committee noted, adding that Kenya cannot compel them [World-coin] to comply with the country's regulatory laws as it lacks jurisdiction, considering it does not have physical offices here.

But the directorate of Criminal Investigations which was probing the firm found that Worldcoin activities in the country did not meet the threshold for any criminal charges.

Upon review of the file, the DPP directed that the file be closed with no further police action. By Nancy Gitonga, The Standard