- Dutch investigation and French complaint accuse Uber of banning drivers via algorithms
- 171 drivers affected on the basis of driver behavior and customer feedback
- Uber says humans were involved in permanent account deactivations
The Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP) has issued Uber with a hefty €825 million ($962 million) fine over the way it used automated systems to suspend driver accounts within Europe.
Because losing access to Uber can immediately prevent drivers from earning money through the platform, regulators deemed that the case should fall under Article 22 of the EU GDPR, which restricts automated-only decision-making when it comes to having significant effects on individuals.
Ultimately, it means this is now the second-largest GDPR fine ever to have been issued, falling short of Meta's 2023 €1.2 billion fine.
Uber hit with €825 million GDPR fine
Though the company was finally hit with the fine in 2026, it relates to business practices between 2018 and 2022 when Uber used software to assess driver behavior and customer feedback before automatically restricting suspicious accounts.
Uber's systems reportedly flagged drivers for taking unnecessary detours to inflate customer prices, and accepting journeys without intending to complete them – perfectly reasonable reasons to be flagged.
But Dutch regulators were more concerned with the fact that decisions were being made entirely by computers and algorithms without human approval, leading drivers to potentially lose their livelihoods. "A computer should not make decisions on its own that have (such) major consequences," regulators said.
Netherlands led the investigation because Uber's main European establishment is based in the country, but the case stems back to an earlier 2020 complaint by French human rights organization La Ligue des Droits de l'Homme (LDH), representing 171 Uber drivers.
Uber argues that fraud-related suspensions were generally short-lived, and that permanent account deactivations were not made without human review, thus it intends to appeal. "We strongly disagree with this decision and disproportionate fine," the company said in a statement (via Reuters).
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