Worldcoin: DCI now goes after government officials
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has scaled up investigation on how Worldcoin got licensed to operate in Kenya.
DCI boss Mr Mohamed Amin, now says detectives are trying to find out how the company that mined peoples’ data managed to get the licenses and started operating in the country.
“The detectives want to find out whether procedure was followed when the company was handed licenses to operate in the country,” said Mr Amin.
He said preliminary investigations had clearly shown that the company was issued with Data Controller Certificates from the office of Data Protection. The company received the certificates on September 15, 2022 and April 18, 2023.
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In addition, it has also emerged that the company had been warned against mining personal data but they defied the orders.
Nairobi News has also established that DCI detectives have also recorded statements from a section of staff who worked with Worldcoin locally.
The local staff have also been restricted from leaving the country until the investigations are over and if the company will be found to have gone against the law then action will be taken against them.
“Our investigations are at an advanced stage and we shall soon send files to the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) for action,” the DCI said.
This comes at a time when Worldcoin co-founder Mr Alex Blania has announced that this month he will visit a number of African countries, including Kenya, to speak about the venture which was declared illegal in the country.
During the visit, Mr Blania, who is also the CEO of Tools for Humanity (TFH), will share explanations on the project that has attracted controversy in Kenya.
“The Worldcoin launch brought rapid global attention to the challenge of proving personhood in a world with advanced AI and an estimated 4 billion people lacking a legal, digitally-verifiable identity,” Worldcoin said in a statement released on Monday, September 4, 2023.
It further said the teams and companies contributing to Worldcoin are planning to hit the road and meet with regulators, researchers, developers, and other members of the growing international community.
“These meetings are designed to help answer questions, demystify the project, and provide onramps for greater participation in the global economy while preserving individual privacy,” it further said.
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