Worldcoin CEO Is Grilled by Kenyan Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee
Blania’s appearance comes in the wake of the Kenyan government’s suspension of the Worldcoin project in the country on 2nd August
By Staff
On September 6, Alex Blania, Co-Founder of Tools for Humanity and CEO of Worldcoin, appeared before a Kenyan parliamentary ad hoc committee to address allegations of illicit operations and data mining within the country.
Blania’s appearance comes in the wake of the Kenyan government’s suspension of the Worldcoin project in the country on August 2, a move that was corroborated by Thomas Scott, Head of Legal at Tools of Humanity, during his appearance before the same committee on September 6.
While Worldcoin made international headlines with its official rollout on July 24, it was revealed that the project had been providing proof of humanness verification in Kenya since 2021 and had established over 20 operational locations in the capital city.
Worldcoin drew regulatory scrutiny when it emerged that more than 300,000 Kenyans had registered and undergone iris scanning as part of the project, even though it was not officially registered as a legal entity in the country.
In response to these allegations, the CEO clarified that the project had been in contact with Kenya’s Office of the Data Commissioner since April 2022, where it was registered as a data controller rather than a limited company.
“We want to emphasize the Worldcoin project’s enduring commitment to Kenya. Our dedication to the people of Kenya is sincere, and we have consistently strived to operate with integrity, compliance, and, above all, transparency. All the personal and biometric data collected in Kenya is securely stored on servers located in the United States, Italy, Germany, Poland, or South Africa,” stated the CEO.
Worldcoin selected Kenya, along with Chile and Portugal, for its pilot program due to the country’s increasing tech adoption and its history of political and economic stability. According to the CEO, Kenya accounts for a significant quarter of Worldcoin’s global user base.
