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The company continues to share drivers data contrary to EU laws.
An international group of journalists, including representatives of De Groene Amsterdammer, Trouw and Het Financieele Dagblad, conducted a large-scale investigation into the activities of Uber. Researchers were alarmed by the practice of transferring users' personal data to law enforcement agencies around the world. The investigation is based on the leak of thousands of internal documents from Uber's European lobbying arm, known as the Uber Files.
Uber, which has gained popularity for its ride-hailing app, has created a dedicated team and an online portal to handle requests from law enforcement. The initiative was part of the company's new strategy after a series of conflicts with authorities in 2014-2015, when Dutch authorities raided Uber's offices three times for refusing to provide driver information.
The team, called the Law Enforcement Response Team (LERT), actively promoted its services among law enforcement agencies around the world. In 2016, LERT representatives spoke to associations of sheriffs and police chiefs in the United States, and in 2019 they visited the Dutch National Police in Utrecht.
In 2015, the company helped locate suspects in terrorist attacks in Paris, and in New Zealand to find a driver accused of rape. Uber representatives emphasized that the company has a wide range of data: GPS coordinates, landing addresses, passenger information.
However, this approach raises serious questions from the point of view of personal data protection. IT lawyer Daphne de Boer notes that the transfer of personal information outside the European Union may violate European law.
Leaked documents from Colombia's prosecutor's office revealed that in 2018, Uber provided Colombian authorities with detailed driver information, including lists of all rides, personal data, and income information. The company even instructed prosecutors on how to formulate requests for confidential information more accurately.
Notably, Uber was aware of the data protection compliance issues back in 2014. The company's internal documents show that the management was aware of the inconsistency of its privacy policy with the requirements of the law in many jurisdictions, including the EU.
International Criminal Court lawyer Gert-Jan Knoops calls Uber's policy "strange" and "risky." He stressed that the transfer of information on nationals to other States should take place only through official channels and under strict conditions. Such decisions make Uber vulnerable to potential lawsuits from affected citizens.
McGann also said that Uber first used a so-called "kill switch" to prevent authorities from accessing company data. Later, the strategy changed, and Uber began to actively cooperate with the authorities to show its "usefulness" for Europe. According to McGann, the company has actually "sacrificed" its drivers.
Currently, the data of non-EU users is managed by Uber's San Francisco office, rather than the Dutch office, which is subject to stricter regulations.
Source
An international group of journalists, including representatives of De Groene Amsterdammer, Trouw and Het Financieele Dagblad, conducted a large-scale investigation into the activities of Uber. Researchers were alarmed by the practice of transferring users' personal data to law enforcement agencies around the world. The investigation is based on the leak of thousands of internal documents from Uber's European lobbying arm, known as the Uber Files.
Uber, which has gained popularity for its ride-hailing app, has created a dedicated team and an online portal to handle requests from law enforcement. The initiative was part of the company's new strategy after a series of conflicts with authorities in 2014-2015, when Dutch authorities raided Uber's offices three times for refusing to provide driver information.
The team, called the Law Enforcement Response Team (LERT), actively promoted its services among law enforcement agencies around the world. In 2016, LERT representatives spoke to associations of sheriffs and police chiefs in the United States, and in 2019 they visited the Dutch National Police in Utrecht.
In 2015, the company helped locate suspects in terrorist attacks in Paris, and in New Zealand to find a driver accused of rape. Uber representatives emphasized that the company has a wide range of data: GPS coordinates, landing addresses, passenger information.
However, this approach raises serious questions from the point of view of personal data protection. IT lawyer Daphne de Boer notes that the transfer of personal information outside the European Union may violate European law.
Leaked documents from Colombia's prosecutor's office revealed that in 2018, Uber provided Colombian authorities with detailed driver information, including lists of all rides, personal data, and income information. The company even instructed prosecutors on how to formulate requests for confidential information more accurately.
Notably, Uber was aware of the data protection compliance issues back in 2014. The company's internal documents show that the management was aware of the inconsistency of its privacy policy with the requirements of the law in many jurisdictions, including the EU.
International Criminal Court lawyer Gert-Jan Knoops calls Uber's policy "strange" and "risky." He stressed that the transfer of information on nationals to other States should take place only through official channels and under strict conditions. Such decisions make Uber vulnerable to potential lawsuits from affected citizens.
McGann also said that Uber first used a so-called "kill switch" to prevent authorities from accessing company data. Later, the strategy changed, and Uber began to actively cooperate with the authorities to show its "usefulness" for Europe. According to McGann, the company has actually "sacrificed" its drivers.
Currently, the data of non-EU users is managed by Uber's San Francisco office, rather than the Dutch office, which is subject to stricter regulations.
Source
