Uber faces fine of nearly $1B over automated driver suspensions
The Dutch Data Protection Authority has fined Uber €825 million for violating GDPR regulations regarding the automated deactivation of driver accounts. Uber disputes the findings, claiming human oversight is involved, and plans to appeal the penalty.
Why it matters
This represents one of the largest GDPR fines to date, highlighting the growing regulatory scrutiny over how corporations use automated decision-making systems to manage labor.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority is fining Uber €825 million (around $966 million) — the second largest penalty issued so far under Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation, according to Reuters .
The Dutch regulator was investigating complaints that Uber had deactivated driver accounts through an automated process without sufficient warning or human oversight. In a statement, deputy chair Monique Verdier said that the company had “committed serious infringements.”
“A computer should not make decisions on its own that have [such] major consequences,” Verdier said.
Uber, however, argued that most driver suspensions are brief, that no permanent deactivations take place without human review, and that drivers have the ability to appeal. (Dutch regulators said some drivers were permanently deactivated without human review, which Uber disputes.) The company said it will appeal the decision.
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