Travellers from Moldova will be on the FSB's radar from September 1 by taking a Russian corporation taxi
Russian special services could access Moldovans' personal data at any time... who use the Yandex Go taxi app. The Moscow government has decided to give the FSB full access. Yandex corporate management does not officially admit that Russian services will be able to track travelers beyond Russia's borders.
However, the databases were moved to the Russian Federation after the outbreak of aggression against Ukraine. Experts in Chisinau believe Moldovans are not protected.
The Yandex corporation was previously accused of cooperating with the Kremlin regime. Yandex algorithms favour positive searches about Russian President Putin.
In 2019, taxi travel data was used to fabricate a case against Russian journalist Ivan Golunov.
Now, cooperation is being brought to the surface by Prime Minister Mikhail Musustin's decree to open the databases to the Federal Security Service (FSB) as of September 1.
People in Chisinau understand that they are vulnerable when they give information about themselves to a Russian corporation: names, phone numbers, bank cards or where they usually go.
VOX: "Bad. I have nothing to say. That's not normal. Everybody rides in a taxi and it's bad that they look at this data and take your money. You may not ride in a taxi, but they take money off your card if you put your card in the app. It's happened to me and not just once.";
"I tend to think this is done to people who have a more vague status, but for your own safety, it's good to know. I'd be interested to know what the solutions are.";
"It's not normal. It's not normal for our services to listen to us either, not yet the services of other countries! Citizens need to be informed and limit these applications to our country.";
"I think we should use other services."
Some European countries have dropped Yandex taxi services. Even under wartime conditions, the Russians operate in more than 20 countries, including Moldova, Finland, Norway. Lawyer Sergiu Bozianu explained that foreign companies that have access to Moldovan citizens' information must sign a contract approved by the National Centre for Personal Data Protection.
"We, at this stage, feel less protected for the simple reason that we do not have statistical data, some figures, showing us how many of the companies processing data from outside Moldova have signed this standard contract. This information can be used to the detriment of any individual, in terms of espionage, blackmail, persecution, manipulation of public opinion, practically anything. The Russian Federation is not included in the list of countries that ensure an adequate level of data protection, this entity must sign a contract assuming certain responsibilities. It is a standard contract approved by the National Centre for Data Protection which lists adequate safeguards to process personal data," reveals Sergiu Bozianu, an expert in personal data protection.
Fines for failure to comply with personal data protection laws can reach 15 000 lei. Under the draft law proposed by the justice ministry, penalties will be increased for large firms up to four million lei. Another bill has been registered in parliament, requiring applications to be registered with the tax authorities.
