In the first half of 2025, Russian authorities sharply increased digital control over citizens. State requests for personal data of Yandex users, especially those using transportation and delivery services, have increased. This is reported by UNN with reference to the Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FISU).
Details
It is noted that in Yandex's transparency report, the number of state requests for personal data of users of the company's services reached record levels, increasing by 48% compared to last year.
During the specified period, the company received tens of thousands of requests from law enforcement agencies and state bodies, and data was transferred in 42.3 thousand cases, which is 44% more than last year. Most often, the authorities demanded information about users of "ridetech" services – these are taxis, delivery, carsharing, and electric scooters. There were 35.8 thousand such requests, which indicates an attempt at total monitoring of people's movements and daily lives
Despite this, the share of satisfied requests has hardly changed – 78% versus 80% a year earlier, which indicates a consistently high level of cooperation between the platform and state structures.
In addition, Yandex received almost 14,000 requests to remove links in accordance with the so-called "right to be forgotten" law, 73% of which were satisfied.
This mechanism is actively used by law enforcement officers, politicians, and businessmen, trying to hide inconvenient materials and journalistic investigations from the public
"In fact, the situation demonstrates a further escalation of state intervention in Russia's digital space: control is tightening, the space of privacy is narrowing, and the Internet is increasingly turning into a tool of surveillance and censorship," the FISU added.
Recall
Russia is aggressively forcing citizens to use the state messenger Max, which is becoming a tool of control. Students face threats for refusing to install the application, and in the occupied territories, Max only works with Russian and Belarusian SIM cards, isolating Ukrainians.