Moldova to ban ride hailing apps (read: Yandex) from sharing user data outside of E.U.

The government of Moldova has suggested banning ride hailing apps from sharing passenger data with countries outside of the E.U., Moldova MP Alexander Trubka told publication NewsMaker.

“The government suggests barring all platforms from exporting passengers’ personal data outside of the E.U.” Trubka explained, after he was asked about Moldova’s response to the fact that the FSB will gain access to user data from the Yango app beginning on September 1.

Meduza recently discovered that all data from the Russian ride-hailing app Yandex Go and its international counterpart Yango are currently stored in Russian data centers. Before the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, some Yango data was stored in a data center in Finland. That data was reportedly duplicated on Russian servers, without any markers distinguishing between rides taken inside Russia and rides taken abroad. Starting September 1, the FSB will have access to all of that data.

Despite the ongoing war and sanctions, Yandex Go and Yango operate in more than 20 countries outside of Russia, including Israel, Norway, Finland, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Armenia.