Netherlands Probes Yandex Taxi App Over Fears of FSB Data Sharing – Bloomberg

Dutch authorities are investigating Yandex's ride-hailing app Yango over fears that it could share European customers’ data with Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB), Bloomberg reported Wednesday.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority confirmed the probe into Yango after Finland in August temporarily suspended user data transfers to Russia, a move prompted by a new law in Russia that requires ride-hailing apps to provide user data to the FSB. 

Finland's data protection regulator lifted the suspension last month after its investigation found that Yango’s service in Europe did not fall under the scope of Russia’s new law.

Yango, which operates in 14 countries across Europe, said it was in talks with the Dutch Data Protection Agency to show its adherence to Europe’s data protection rules.

“As we have always stated, data of Yango users cannot be obtained from the service by Russian authorities outside of the established international procedures, for example, involving Interpol,” the company said.

Yango said Thursday that the Finnish probe showed its data processing did not pose “any imminent threat” to the rights and freedoms of European users, according to Reuters.

Sanctions passed over Russia’s war in Ukraine have forced Yandex, once the crown jewel of Russia's tech sector, to split into two separate corporate entities — with one registered in Russia and the other in The Netherlands. 

The Amsterdam-based firm plans to focus on new technologies, including Yango, for international markets.