A Kenyan High Court has ruled against WorldCoin Foundation's data collection activities

A Kenyan High Court has ruled against WorldCoin Foundation’s data collection activities and ordered the organization to permanently delete all biometric data from citizens.

The ruling, delivered on August 7, directs the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner to supervise the deletion of iris and facial scans collected by WorldCoin within seven days.

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.

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

The court granted an Order of Mandamus compelling the respondents, including WorldCoin and its agents, to delete all collected personal data from the country’s territory.

The court ruled that the processing of personal data by the respondents was unlawful as it breached Section 28 of the Data Protection Act, 2019.

The judge further ruled that the respondents’ actions infringed on the applicants’ constitutional right to privacy.

The legal action was brought by the Katiba Institute, a non-profit public interest law firm, 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.

The Institute expressed relief over the court's decision to safeguard the privacy and data protection rights of all Kenyans.

The case arose from Worldcoin’s activities in March 2023 at Nairobi’s Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC). Thousands of Kenyans lined up to receive KES 7,000 (~$52) in the $WLD cryptocurrency in exchange for their biometric data. However, the exercise was abruptly suspended by the government after massive turnouts led to public safety and security concerns.

Despite the setback, operations are set to resume following the Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga’s decision to close the investigation.

The judge's ruling also noted that while the