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(Kitco News) - Worldcoin, a project designed to provide a unique digital ID for users around the world by scanning their irises, has run into a roadblock in its onboarding process as the government of Kenya has suspended all local Worldcoin operations due to concerns about public safety and the integrity of financial transactions.
Up to this point, Kenya has been one of the primary testing grounds for the project, with Worldcoin’s directory showing there are at least 18 iris-scanning locations located throughout the country.
Kithure Kindiki, the Interior Cabinet Secretary of Kenya, announced the suspension via a Facebook post on Wednesday that laid out the reasoning behind the move.
“The Government is concerned by the ongoing activities of an organization calling itself ‘Worldcoin’ which is involved in the registration of citizens through collection of eyeball/iris data,” Kindiki said. “Relevant security, financial services, and data protection agencies have commenced inquiries and investigations to establish the authenticity and legality of the aforesaid activities, the safety and protection of the data being harvested, and how the harvesters intend to use the data.”
Kindiki also said that as a matter of public safety, Worldcoin needs to provide assurances that “the integrity of the financial transactions involving such a large number of citizens be satisfactorily provided upfront.”
“Accordingly, the Government has suspended forthwith, activities of ‘Worldcoin’ and any other entity that may be similarly engaging the people of Kenya until relevant public agencies certify the absence of any risks to the general public whatsoever,” Kindiki said.
He also warned that “appropriate action” will be taken against any individual or legal entity found involved in, supporting, aiding, or abetting Worldcoin activity while the suspension is in effect.
Worldcoin was first launched in October 2021 by co-founders Alex Blania, Sam Altman and Max Novendstern as a project focused on creating a “World ID” system that will give users “universal access to the global economy.”
The company’s Orb technology scans an individual’s iris to produce unique numbers that can be tied to a user’s identity, and no record of the scan is kept, which helps prevent theft and fraud. The project was also created as a way to distinguish humans from artificial intelligence (AI) bots. To entice people to go through with the process, Worldcoin (WLD) is offered as a reward.
One of the major goals of the project is to create a digital identification system that incorporates “World ID” with websites and applications as a way to replace conventional logins. This process verifies your real identity without the need to disclose personal information such as names and emails.
Worldcoin also claims they want to protect individuals from AI misinformation and establish clarity in identifying trustworthy sources online. As AI development continues to increase, a digital ID such as this could be crucial to differentiate humans from AI bots on the internet, Worldcoin said.
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| Worldcoin signups fizzle amid concerns over privacy and data centralization |
Thus far, governments have responded to the project with reservations as multiple countries are now taking a closer look at its operations to ensure that it doesn’t pose a risk to citizens.
According to a report from Reuters, Germany’s data watchdog – the Bavarian State Office for Data Protection Supervision (BayLDA) – launched a probe into Worldcoin’s activities starting in November 2022 based on concerns over biometric data.
Last week, the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) announced that it would be conducting inquiries regarding the project, and France’s National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) reportedly said “The legality of this collection seems questionable, as do the conditions for storing biometric data,” and opened an investigation into the matter.
Despite the concerns of global governments, a senior manager for Worldcoin told Reuters on Wednesday the company plans to expand its operations in an effort to sign up more users globally, and also plans to allow other organizations to use its iris-scanning and identity-verifying technology.
“We are on this mission of building the biggest financial and identity community that we can,” said Ricardo Macieira, general manager for Europe at Tools For Humanity, the San Francisco and Berlin-based company behind the project. He added that Worldcoin will continue to roll out operations in Europe, Latin America, Africa, and “all the parts of the world that will accept us.”
He also pushed back against rumors that Worldcoin was established to become a form of universal basic income.
“I don’t think we are going to be the ones generating universal basic income,” he said. “If we can do the infrastructure that allows for governments or other entities to do so we would be very happy.”
Instead, he said the platform would allow companies to use its digital identity system for a small fee. Macieira gave the example of a coffee shop wanting to give everyone free coffee. He said Worldcoin’s technology could be used to ensure that people do not claim more than one coffee without the shop needing to gather personal data.
“The idea is that we build this infrastructure and that we allow other third parties to use the technology,” he said, adding that, in the future, the technology behind the iris-scanning orb will be open-source. “The idea is that anyone can in the future build their own orb and use it to benefit the community that it's aiming for.”
