Kenyan Commission of Inquiry: Worldcoin’s actions “constitute espionage and pose a threat to national status”

Odaily Planet Daily News Members of the Kenyan Parliament accused Eliud Owalo, Cabinet Secretary (CS) of the Ministry of Information, Communications and Digital Economy, of misleading the authorities with his report on Worldcoin’s local operating conditions. Kenya’s ad hoc committee investigating the Worldcoin incident said in a report to House of Representatives last Thursday that Worldcoin’s actions “constitute espionage and pose a threat to the status of the nation.” They want the Criminal Investigation Department to investigate two related foreign companies, Tools for Humanity (TFH) Corp and Tools for Humanity GmbH, which are suspected of operating illegally in Kenya. The committee, chaired by Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, also wants Parliament to harmonize laws to regulate the country’s cryptocurrency regime. In its findings, the committee noted that “the above statements are inconsistent with CS’s submission on September 11, 2023. CS stated in its submission that Worldcoin began collecting data in public places on May 31, 2021, and Applying to register as a data controller in Kenya on 22 August 2022, one year after they started their activities in Kenya, is contrary to the Data Protection Act 2019.” Tools for Humanity Corp and Tools for Humanity GmbH and their associated companies were found to have violated several Kenyan laws, including the Data Protection Act, the Consumer Protection Act and the Computer Misuse and Cybercrime Act. The findings revealed that neither company appears in the Business Registration Service database of registered businesses or companies in Kenya and therefore lacks legal authority to conduct business in Kenya. The Commission found that despite collecting data on behalf of Worldcoin, Sense Marketing Ltd and other local partners were not registered as data processors or controllers as required under the Data Protection Act. (Nation) Earlier in September, Kenyan Interior Cabinet Minister Kithure Kindiki claimed that US authorities prevented the country from detaining several executives of the cryptocurrency project Worldcoin, who are US citizens. A spokesperson for Worldcoin’s parent company confirmed to local media Nation that Worldcoin co-founder and CEO Alex Blania and its chief legal counsel Thomas Scott were among the people arrested by Kenyan authorities at Nairobi Airport. It is reported that Kenya decided to ban the operation of the Worldcoin project on August 2 and established an independent committee to investigate its impact. During the committee hearing, Kindiki said the United States prevented authorities from detaining the men because Blania, Scott and other Worldcoin executives had not yet been "found guilty."