Premise, a tech company based in San Francisco that allows users to share intelligence and market research information with governments around the globe, stated it suspended its activities there on Friday after being accused by Ukrainian officials of aiding Russia.
In a Facebook posting, the General Staff of Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed that their enemies used Premise’s smartphone application to collect data in Stryi (western part of Ukraine) and other areas of the country for Kremlin purposes.
Maury Blackman, CEO of Premise, stated in a statement Friday that the allegations were “unambiguously false” and that his company doesn’t work for the Russian military nor government. He stated that his company and all of its employees worldwide support Ukraine’s defense against the Russian aggression.
Premise did not respond immediately to a request for comments.
Blackman stated in a separate newsrelease that the “public statement of Ukraine Defense Ministry that has been circulated is incorrect.”
Blackman stated that Premise and its customers had surveyed Ukrainians before the Russian invasion and asked them to take photographs to help “understand citizens”‘ perceptions.”
However, Premise’s activities in Ukraine in recent years seem to be different according to multiple Twitter users who appear to be in the country. They shared screenshots that they claimed were from Premise, an app that offered jobs to Ukrainians. It charges 30 cents for photos of explosion damage and $3.25 to locate nearby medical facilities. One user on Twitter said that they couldn’t comment immediately because they were in an area under attack. Another Twitter user didn’t immediately respond to a request to comment.
NBC News could not determine which clients paid for the tasks from the photos. The company previously stated it does not “reveal end customers” to its users. The Wall Street Journal reported Premise was in Ukraine for Western democracies who wanted to learn more about the country’s infrastructure. The U.S. Department of Defense didn’t immediately respond to a request.
Premise was founded in 2013 and is one of many research companies that rewards people for small tasks such as taking photos, answering surveys, or reporting on the prices of goods in local stores. These data are used to help corporations understand local markets, and also for training artificial intelligence systems.
Mary L. Gray is the coauthor of “Ghost Work,” which is a book about people who work in piecework apps such as Premise. stated via Twitter that it was important to think about how they are treated.
She wrote that “if we want healthy information we must care about the working conditions of everyone who could be asked for a task mediated through platforms.”
According to reporting published by The Wall Street Journal in June, Premise began working with the U.S. Military and foreign governments over recent years. According to the company’s release, it operates in over 125 countries and in 37 different languages in order to “find data for every decision.”
