Uber Faces GDPR Fine Amidst Regulatory Challenges and RoboTaxi Expansion
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Uber has allegedly violated the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) again, but this time to the tune of a 824.9 million euro, or $966 million, fine. The Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens (AP), or the Dutch Data Protection Authority, hit Uber with the massive fine, accusing the company of automatically deactivating driver accounts between 2018 and 2022 without human intervention.
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TechCrunchUber was fined €825 million ($966 million) by the Dutch Data Protection Authority for using automated systems to deactivate or suspend driver accounts without adequately informing them — a violation of European data protection law.
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Tesla, Uber, and Waymo all received permits from Nevada regulators that will allow them to operate commercial robotaxi services in Clark County, home to Las Vegas. Together, these permits would deploy up to 8,000 robotaxis across the county over the next 12 months. It’s unlikely that all 8,000 of these vehicles will land in Vegas over the next year, but even a fraction of that amount will affect the city.
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Uber has tried to position itself as the Goldilocks option in this fight, advocating for a hybrid approach in which ride-hailing networks are made up of humans and robotaxis. The company has even lobbied for a system that would require robotaxis to operate on a ride-hailing network that also uses human drivers, a stance that puts it at odds with Waymo and doubles as a hedge against its own autonomous ambitions falling short of Tesla’s or Waymo’s.
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Ars TechnicaThe rise in lobbying comes as Waymo and Uber push competing visions for the future of ride-hailing. Waymo wants a faster route to fully driverless commercial services, while Uber is advocating a staggered rollout in which robotaxis operate alongside human drivers.
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Independent claims that didn't surface elsewhere in our corpus. Treat as supplementary — not corroborated across outlets.
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01 TechCrunch 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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02 Engadget "From one moment to the next, they no longer had any income through Uber," Monique Verdier, deputy chair of the AP, said of the drivers who initiated the complaint. "A computer should not make decisions on its own that have major consequences for you."
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03 Ars Technica Waymo has sharply increased its lobbying spending as it seeks to persuade US regulators to clear a path for fully autonomous taxi services, intensifying its battle with rival Uber over the future of robotaxis.
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Sources (3)
- arstechnica
- engadget
- techcrunch