– It’s an incredibly clear and easy app that all my Bergen citizens should download on their mobile, Sellevoll wrote on Instagram in November 2021. He promoted the Russian taxi app Yango, which drives customers in both Oslo and Bergen. Now the artist reacts to new information about “Russia’s Uber”. Last month, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority was able to establish that Yango Norway AS also stores the personal data of Norwegian users in Russia. This is based on information they have received from the taxi company. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority is now investigating whether Russian authorities have or can gain access to Norwegian personal data, according to section head for information security Tobias Judin. – We are still concerned about whether Norwegian users may be exposed to Russian surveillance, but have not reached a conclusion, he says to news. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority believes that there may be Russian laws and practices that put data security at risk, and recommends that people in public office delete the app. Here, Yandex CEO Arkady Volozj talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin outside a taxi in Moscow. Yandex is the parent company of Yango. Photo: Alexei Druzhinin / AP Sellevoll: – Unacceptable Sellevoll calls the news “surprising and unacceptable”. – Privacy is a decisive issue, and I am preoccupied with ensuring that my and others’ personal data is processed in a secure and responsible manner, he says to news. He says that he has “been a frequent user of Yango since the app was launched”, but that he has now deleted it. – He got out of the car and got in my face so he was running into me. I said: “Shall we kiss in the same room?”, says Sellevoll. Photo: Adrian Sellevoll / Facebook – Did you read Yango’s information about privacy and data storage before you agreed to advertise for them? – No, I didn’t do that, and I don’t plan to do that either. – Are you going to do it in the future? – Maybe I should. Will not answer privacy questions Sjølve Yango Norway AS is based in Norway and subject to Norwegian legislation. Parent company Yandex is Russia’s answer to Google, and is the largest technology company in the country. Nordic Director at Yango, Erlend Eidsvoll, says that he understands that privacy statements on social media can be difficult to decide on. But when asked about who has access to Norwegian users’ personal data in Russia, he replies that he will discuss with the Norwegian Data Protection Authority before they come out with any information. Nor will he give any message to Norwegian users who are worried about being exposed to Russian surveillance. – I bet that in one and a half or two weeks, we can probably answer these questions much better. A Yango taxi photographed by news in Oslo. Photo: Geir Bjarte Hjetland / news Last month, Yango answered questions from news that Russian authorities or the Russian police (FSB) cannot access Norwegian users’ personal data. They say that only the Dutch authorities can demand something like this, because the information is processed in the Netherlands before it ends up in Russian data centres. – The laws of the Russian Federation are not legally binding on the international ride-hailing app Yango, and do not apply to Yango users, because the users travel and use the app outside of Russia, says a spokesperson for the company. No more worries about Russian police law Finland and Norway are the only European companies in which Yango has an office. Judin says they are in dialogue with both the Finnish and Dutch authorities to gather expertise in the matter. Previously, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority was worried about a new law in Russia that came into force on 1 September, which meant that taxi companies in the country were required by law to share such data with the Russian police. They no longer fear that this law applies to Norwegian Yango users. In other words, ordinary people can continue to use the app as before. Among the personal data that Yango collects is the user’s location, telephone number and address. Photo: Yango AS Yango AS has notified the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, according to Judin, that it will take a possible decision against it before the court. – Therefore, as always, it is important that we do a careful job here, he says. Eidsvoll will not comment on whether this information is correct. He says that Yango has sent “much more” documentation to the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, but that the investigation concerning the FSB Act was “completely on track”. – We are operative, so we have rather come with information that confirms what we say that it is safe than the opposite. Hello! Thank you for reading the story about Yango. Do you have experience of using the taxi app in the Bergen area, or do you have some thoughts about the offer that is here? Do you have any tips for other things I should make? I am a journalist at news Vestland and cover what happens in the county.
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Stjernekamp-Adrian advertised for a Russian taxi app. Now he is afraid of his personal information – news Vestland
