Worldcoin Kenya Controversy: Cabinet Secretary Blasted for Inconsistent Statements About Project’s License Status
Publikováno: 3.10.2023
A Kenyan parliamentary committee tasked with investigating Worldcoin’s activities in the African country has reportedly censured a government official over his inconsistent statements about Worldcoin’s license status. The committee also said it found that Worldcoin’s “Orbs” were not approved by the Communications Authority of Kenya as required by law. Worldcoin Allegedly Operated Without a License […]
A Kenyan parliamentary committee tasked with investigating Worldcoin’s activities in the African country has reportedly censured a government official over his inconsistent statements about Worldcoin’s license status. The committee also said it found that Worldcoin’s “Orbs” were not approved by the Communications Authority of Kenya as required by law.
Worldcoin Allegedly Operated Without a License
The Kenyan parliamentary committee investigating Worldcoin’s activities in the country recently censured the Kenyan ICT cabinet secretary Eliud Owalo over his previous pronouncements about the crypto project’s license status. The committee, chaired by Gabriel Tongoyo, said inconsistencies in Owalo’s statement issued on Sept. 11 suggest that Worldcoin may have operated for just over a year without the requisite license.
As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News, Owalo is widely believed to have initially backed the crypto project. However, the cabinet secretary later appeared to make an about-face when he accused Worldcoin of not adhering to the requirements of its registration license. In response, the Kenyan parliament launched a committee charged with establishing the facts about Worldcoin’s license status, among other things.
According to a report in The Nation, the parliament committee has now determined that Owalo’s testimony undermines Worldcoin’s license claims.
“In the said submission, the CS [Cabinet Secretary Owalo] noted that Worldcoin started collecting data in public places on May 31, 2021, and applied for registration as data controllers in Kenya on August 22, 2022, one year after commencing their activities in Kenya, contrary to the Data Protection Act of 2019,” the committee wrote in its report.
However, the committee noted that Owalo has denied proclaiming that Worldcoin’s activities in the country were above board.
‘Orbs’ Not Approved
Meanwhile, in addition to the licensing issues, the Kenyan parliamentary committee said it also found that Worldcoin’s eyeball scanning devices, or “Orbs,” were not approved by the Communications Authority of Kenya. The committee further alleged that Worldcoin’s transfer and storage of user data to Amazon Web Services servers in South Africa violated section 48 of the Data Protection Act.
Concerning the license status of Tools for Humanity Corp and Tools for Humanity Gmbh Germany, two companies behind the Worldcoin project, the committee said:
“The two companies do not appear in the Business Registration Service database of registered businesses or companies in Kenya and hence lack the legal mandate to transact any business in Kenya according to provisions of the Companies Act, 2015.”
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