REGULATION | Kenya High Court Declares WorldCoin Operations Illegal, Orders Deletion of Biometric Data

A Kenyan High Court has ruled against WorldCoin Foundation’s data collection activities, ordering the organization to permanently delete all biometric data – specifically iris and facial scans – collected from Kenyan citizens.

The directive mandates that the deletion be carried out within seven days under the supervision of the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

The court issued an Order of Mandamus, compelling WorldCoin and its agents to erase the data for failing to conduct an adequate Data Protection Impact Assessment, as required under Section 31 of Kenya’s Data Protection Act, 2019. The ruling also cited that consent for data collection was improperly obtained through inducement with cryptocurrency tokens.

The decision, delivered by Lady Justice Roselyne Aburili, included three major orders:

• A prohibition on further biometric data processing by Worldcoin in Kenya
• A directive to delete previously gathered data, and
• An Order of Certiorari nullifying the foundation’s previous decision to collect and process such data within the country.

Justice Aburili emphasized that Worldcoin’s operations infringed on Kenyans’ constitutional right to privacy.

The legal action was initiated by the Katiba Institute, a constitutional advocacy organization, which challenged Worldcoin’s use of the Orb device and mobile app to collect, process, and transfer sensitive biometric data.

“Today, Lady Justice Aburili Roselyne has allowed our Judicial Review Application, where we challenged the collection, processing, and transfer of iris and facial images (biometric data) using the Worldcoin App and the Orb,” the Katiba Institute announced in a statement.

WorldCoin drew massive crowds in March 2023 at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), luring thousands of Kenyans with a promise of receiving KES 7,000 (~$52) in the $WLD cryptocurrency in exchange for their biometric data. The exercise was abruptly suspended by the government after overwhelming turnouts raised significant public safety and security concerns.

Although operations were halted, Worldcoin developer, Tools for Humanity, expressed intentions to resume activities. In June 2024, the company cited the Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga’s decision to close the investigation as a green light to re-engage with the Kenyan government and potentially resume registrations.

“We will continue working with the government of Kenya and others, and we hope to resume World ID registration across the country soon,” the company stated at the time.

Nevertheless, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations had advised the company to seek proper business registration through the Registrar of Companies should it wish to continue operations in Kenya.