The competition authority’s announcement revealed that the Competition Council launched an investigation into the platform operator in early 2023, during which it requested the company to provide additional information about app users “necessary to clarify certain important aspects of the case”. The competition authority does not say what aspects and the reason for the investigation, but only specifies that the requested information was related to drivers’ personal data.
However, Ridetech International BV did not provide the requested data, citing its obligations as an EU-registered personal data controller under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
According to the Council, despite this argument, “the company simultaneously failed to fulfill the obligations under the legislation of the Republic of Moldova, the state in which it carries out its economic activity and where its operations are regulated by the national legal framework, including in the field of competition”.
Taking into account “the circumstances of the case and the importance of effective cooperation in the investigation”, the Competition Council imposed a fine of 776,363 lei on Ridetech International BV, the operator of the Yandex Go electronic platform and the Yandex Pro application used by cab companies in Moldova, and set a 30-day deadline “for the full provision of the requested and previously undisclosed information”. The law authorizes fines for violation of procedural rules, the amount of which is proportional to the annual turnover of the company and may reach 1% of it.
Alexei Hercescu, Chairman of the Competition Council: “As long as an undertaking operates in Moldova and enjoys access to the local market, even if it is registered in another state, it cannot invoke the need to comply with any rules of the jurisdiction in which it is registered as an excuse for not providing information requested by the Moldovan authorities, including legitimate requests from the antimonopoly authority. Consequently, the company is obliged to organize its activities, information infrastructure and data management processes in such a way as to comply with all the requirements of Moldovan legislation and, inter alia, to respond to requests for information formulated by the national antimonopoly authority”.
