Despite the green light in Kenya, Worldcoin and its parent company, Tools for Humanity, still face investigations in other countries. In Europe, the only country where the company's "orbs" are currently listed is Germany, but the data protection authority in Bavaria is investigating the company. Operations in Spain are paused pending the Bavarian investigation, and Portugal's DPA is focusing on the company's U.S. entity. Italy has already issued a warning to the company to refrain from any launch. The situation with Worldcoin highlights potential issues with the technology and underscores how unprepared many jurisdictions are to deal with new technologies.
Key takeaways:
- Worldcoin, a cryptocurrency startup co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, has been given permission to resume its operations in Kenya after a year-long government investigation over privacy concerns was dropped.
- The Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations has issued a letter stating that the investigation has been closed with no further police action, but the crypto startup has been asked to register the business officially, acquire requisite licenses and vet its vendors for prudent continued operations.
- A parliamentary committee had earlier recommended the operation be shut down after finding that Worldcoin and its umbrella company Tools for Humanity had violated Kenyan regulations concerning data protection, consumer protection, and the computer misuse and cybercrimes act.
- Worldcoin and Tools for Humanity still face a number of other investigations pending in other countries, including Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Italy.