Here a lot of customers, a lot of stories, a lot of something cabinet every day, you know. I knew more than anybody, you know. That includes what Lithuanians look for when they look for a ride. They want a ride…cheap… iphone. It’s everything against price.
The idea is at the heart of competition among a crowded field of taxi ride share services that include the US-based UBER, Lithuania’s own Taxify and Russia’s Yandex Taxi already dominant in Russia. Yandex launched its taxi sharing app in the Baltic countries in the summer of 2018 to a receptive market, but growing success has also caught the eye of Lithuania’s Ministry of Defense which has raised concerns about illicit data gathering to the apps access to user contacts, microphone and camera. Our national cybersecurity center did the first examination on where exactly data is being sent and what we found out that the data was a direction.
But Edvinas says that may violate European Union law that has banned use of the app by government officials, and issued warnings to the public pending an investigation.
Back in Moscow, Yandex Taxi calls the charges unfounded. Access to smart phone function simply improves service, they say, and all user information is stored within EU data centers. If someone has some suspicions, especially the Baltic States government officials, we are open…we are ready to do all the necessary checks. Let them come and we are ready for discussion. The charges have dragged the app into a wider Russia West standoff over issues that include Ukraine and alleged election interference. So is Yandex Taxi. The latest tool in Kremlin hybrid tactics or just a company malign for simply being Russian.
On the streets of the capital Vilnius, views break down along cultural lines mindful of Lithuanians passed under Russian Soviet rule. What kind of secret information could I have is because Yandex is Russian that they’re finding fault with it. It’s Russia-phobia… There’s nothing else to say... It’s just politics and the reason why... because I think that’s... Well, I think there is still some like a stigma between the fan and Russia, but in an era when data protection from all tech companies Western included are under the microscope.