Tunisian authorities say transport app Bolt leaks users' data to Israel

Tunisia's National Authority for the Protection of Personal Data (INPDP) has warned against using the European transport application Bolt, due to the risk of leaking users' data to Israel.

"The authority informs the public that resorting to the services of this company exposes them to a breach of their rights to protect their personal data," added INPDP in a press release on Tuesday.

The official statement came a few weeks after Al Qatiba, a local website, published a press investigation accusing the app of tax fraud and violating the privacy of Tunisian data and leaking it to Israel.

The investigation said the app contains a set of trackers distributed in several world regions, including the USA, Canada, Britain, Germany and Greece.

"What is remarkable is that these trackers that collect information and data are exported by Bolt to the Zionist entity, where they are used by an Israeli advertising company, which is (AppsFlyer) located in Herzliya in Tel Aviv," read the investigation.

Al Qatiba has reportedly provided authorities with details that prove the authenticity of their investigation, according to INPDP.

In 2019, Bolt, an Estonian transport company that provides car rental, mini-mobility, car sharing and food delivery services, launched its services in Tunisia

The app operates in more than 45 countries within 500 cities, including the Tunisian towns of Sousse and the capital of Tunis. 

The INPDP said they contacted in the past weeks the company's lawyer, who committed to correcting the legal status of this activity as soon as possible.

However, the INPDP decided to head to court after the company had delayed addressing the scandal.

The company faces charges of "processing personal data without taking prior procedures with the authority," and "referring data abroad without obtaining a license from the authority."

The company has yet to officially address the accusations.

"Pending the court's decision in this regard, (…) users [of the app] bear the sole responsibility for the legal consequences of allowing this company to collect and process their personal data," added the INPDP's statement.