Worldcoin: Eliud Owalo Says Popular Crypto Company Collecting Data From Kenyans Is Operating Legally

• ICT and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo said Wordcoin had informed the Data Commissioner’s office before they began registering Kenyans
• According to Owalo, since the company started registering Kenyans, they have not broken any laws
• On matters of breach of privacy, the CS stated that Worldcoin was collecting personal information voluntarily

Nairobi - ICT and Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owlao has defended the operations of Worldcoin, the cryptocurrency project by American Artificial Intelligence (AI) company OpenAI in the country.

During an interview on NTV on Wednesday, August 2, Owalo said the company is operating legally in Kenya.

Owalo says Worldcoin has broken no laws

Owalo disclosed that the Kenya Kwanza administration is aware of OpenAI’s operations in the country and that they sought clearance in April before the Worldcoin registration process began.

“This is something that started way back in April. We have a fully-fledged Data Commissioner’s office charged with the regulation of data security and privacy. In April, the office of the Data Commissioner got wind of Worldcoin and wrote them a letter to clarify what they wanted to do,” Owalo said.

The ICT CS stated that despite the concerns over data security issues due to the scanning of people’s irises, Worldcoin is not breaching the Data Protection Act.

“Information available to the Data Commissioner is that within the existing legal frameworks is that there is no provision in the law that the organisation has breached. There has been correspondence with them,” he stated.

Owalo stated that even though there are areas around security and regulations that need to be fine-tuned, the now popular cryptocurrency company is operating within the law.

“There could be security and regulatory issues around it, which we need to improve, but as far as the Data Act is concerned, they were acting within the law,” the CS added.

At the same time, Owalo defended the collection of personal data arguing that most of the Kenyans are giving out their information voluntarily.

“Their argument is that they are getting the data voluntarily from Kenyans,” he noted.

Worldcoin, launched last week, has seen thousands of Kenyans in Nairobi turn up to register.

During registration, one's eyeballs are scanned through an orb in exchange for a digital identity called World ID.

After getting their eyeballs scanned, new members receive 25 free WLD. The tokens are currently valued at Ksh.7,786.

Data office warns about Worldcoin

Earlier, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) called on Kenyans to exercise vigilance as they allow their biometrics to be captured by Worldcoin.

The ODPC urged the citizenry to familiarise itself with how the platform works and how the data they give about themselves will be used before going ahead to "prove themselves as humans."

"As the ODPC conducts its assessment of Worldcoin's practices to ensure compliance with the law, Kenyans are urged to ensure that they receive proper information before disclosing any personal or sensitive data. Individuals are advised to thoroughly inquire about how their data will be used," it said.