The High Court of Kenya has made a ruling that requires the World digital identification project (formerly Worldcoin) to delete the biometric data of local users. Judge Roselyn Aburili granted a petition from the non-governmental organization Katiba Institute, which challenged the collection, processing, and transmission of iris and facial images conducted through the World Coin app and the Orb device.
This is reported by Finway
Court Ruling and Its Implications
The court issued several important orders:
- a ban on the Worldcoin Foundation and its agents from collecting or processing biometric data in Kenya without a proper data protection impact assessment or obtaining consent, which is implied by cryptocurrency rewards;
- the annulment of Worldcoin’s decision to collect/process biometric data without a proper data protection assessment and based on consent obtained through Worldcoin incentives;
- an obligation to delete all unlawfully collected biometric data within seven days under the supervision of the data protection authority.
At the time of preparing this material, the Worldcoin (WLD) asset is trading at around $0.88. According to TradingView data, the WLD/USDT chart on the Binance exchange reflects this information. Interestingly, in January 2025, Brazil’s National Data Protection Authority also imposed restrictions on the World project, requiring the company Tools for Humanity, which is behind the project, to suspend the offering of cryptocurrency or any financial compensation for the collection of iris data from Brazilian citizens.