Worldcoin Offices RAIDED

Things aren’t looking too good for Worldcoin right now. …

The controversial altcoin project and global identity solution, spearheaded by Sam Altman, utilizes a dispersed network of orbs that scan the human iris and collect biometric data. …

As a reward for the submission and collection of this data, users receive Worldcoin’s native token WLD.

It is the collection of this biometric data that has regulators and sovereign governments spooked. … Several governing bodies have now expressed concern with Worldcoin’s data collection activities and the security surrounding such data.

One of those countries is Kenya, where authorities have suspended Worldcoin operations and conducted a raid of the Worldcoin facilities. Kenyan Authorities issued this official statement on Monday:

JOINT STATEMENT BY @ODPC_KE and @CA_Kenya ON OPERATIONS OF WORLDCOIN IN KENYA@MoICTKenya pic.twitter.com/oqa01cXffA

— OFFICE OF THE DATA PROTECTION COMMISSIONER (@ODPC_KE) August 2, 2023

Kenyan news outlet Kahawatungu broke the story and reported: “Officers, backed by multi-agency officials, went to the offices along Mombasa Road with a search warrant and broke in before leaving with machines they believe store data gathered by the firm.”

It sounds like police confiscated the orbs in Nairobi!

"Officers, backed by multi-agency officials, went to the offices along Mombasa Road with a search warrant and broke in before leaving with machines they believe store data gathered by the firm."https://t.co/yq2WB4FgbF

— Jameson Lopp (@lopp) August 7, 2023

According to Crypto Briefing:

Local reports detailed a sequence of events along Mombasa Road, with multi-agency officials supporting the police as they accessed the Worldcoin facility. The operation was reportedly orchestrated by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, with Immaculate Kassait leading the way.

Simba Elijah Charles Kiage writes: “A two sided story. Worldcoin offices raided by police officers looking for evidence of data mining purposes. First guys to have their eyeballs scanned receive part of the promised grant.”

A two sided story
Worldcoin offices raided by police officers looking for evidence of data mining purposes

First guys to have their eyeballs scanned receive part of the promised grant . pic.twitter.com/yotzLFJHFr

— Simba Elijah Charles Kiage🇰🇪 (@kiagesimba) August 7, 2023

The Coin Economista asked: “Are regulations closing in on Worldcoin?”

Are regulations closing in on #Worldcoin? 🔍

Kenya becomes the first country to fully suspend Worldcoin's operations while data protection offices across Europe are beginning their own investigations as well.

"The Government is concerned by the ongoing activities of an… pic.twitter.com/6UsC9tfkiC

— The Coin Economista | Daily Crypto News (@_CoinEconomista) August 8, 2023

CoinDesk provided this background context:

Last week, the Ministry of the Interior suspended the project’s operations in the country, even as Kenya’s minister for the digital economy, Eliud Owalo, said the ODPC had been in contact with Worldcoin as far back as April and had concluded that its activities comply with Kenya’s data-protection laws.

Later in the week, however, the ODPC issued a statement saying that after a preliminary review, it found “a number of legitimate regulatory concerns” around the project. Authorities in the U.K., France and Germany are also looking into the project.

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