Russian secret service FSB wants direct access to database of taxi and ride-hailing companies in Russia.
As part of a new taxi legislation drafted by the Moscow Ministry of Transport, the Russian Parliament (the State Duma) will introduce a bill on direct real-time access by the Federal Service for Security of the Russian Federation (FSB) to the databases of taxi - and ride-hailing companies like Yandex Taxi, Gett and Uber.
According to the online trade magazine Passenger Transport Magazine the bill, on which other ministries have been working along with the Ministry of Transport, will soon be submitted to the Lower House of the State Duma for preliminary approval before finally going to the Upper House and then to President Vladimir Putin for final approval. The bill does not explain why the FSB — the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB — should have access to data on taxi and ride-hailing users. Several news organizations have unsuccessfully sought comment from the Ministry of Transport. Yandex, the largest Russian technology group and as Yandex Taxi the leading ride-hailing company in Russia, also declined to comment on the bill.
The concept has been in the Duma's database since last week: “The passenger taxi ordering service is obliged to provide the Federal Security Service with automated remote access to information systems and databases used for receiving, storing, processing and transmitting of orders for a passenger taxi and will be deployed in a manner specified by the Russian government,” said a statement from the Lower House of the State Duma.
As part of the new taxi legislation – which has been intensively debated for more than six years – the bill also regulates the relationship between drivers and so-called 'taxi aggregators', such as Yandex Taxi. The Russian Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Digital Transformation will develop an online database that will allow these taxi and ride-hailing aggregators to verify that their drivers are properly licensed. In Russia, the person at the wheel is not always the one who has the necessary permits for the work.
Popular taxi delivery services in Russia, such as Yandex Taxi, Uber and Gett, have already been asked by the secret service to informally share data. Irina Zaripova, head of the highly active taxi organization Public Taxi Development Council, explains that taxi companies currently have 30 days to comply with such a request. “Many fear that the FSB could get information about customers at any time,” Zaripova told Kommersant FM radio station in late March, when the government's plan became known.
Since the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Russian authorities have further restricted public freedoms and sharpened the discussion on national security issues. Since then, FSB agents must have the data — still by informal request — within an hour. “When it comes to national security, there are very often situations where something has happened and FSB agents need this data practically within an hour to solve or prevent a crime,” explains Zaripova.
Zaripova, who has good relations with the Russian government through her organization, insisted that “no one will check this data from early in the morning until late at night. The draft law is not about the transfer of data, but about access to the database, an approach that is easier to implement,” said Zaripova. The concept also does not specify exactly what type of data is involved. No one has yet publicly expressed concerns about this planned new step in taxi legislation.
State Duma deputy Adalbi Chchagochev, a member of the anti-corruption committee, said the project would not be easy to implement. "But that doesn't mean it isn't necessary," he told RIA news agency. It is a matter of national security.”
