The Dutch Aren't Messing Around With Uber

Dutch data-protection authorities have fined Uber nearly $1 billion, saying the ride-hailing company used automated software to suspend driver accounts, sometimes permanently, with no human review to check for mistakes. The Dutch Data Protection Authority said on Friday that it's imposing a fine of close to $965 million because Uber violated the EU's General Data Protection Regulation, per the AP. The EU's data privacy rules prohibit fully automated decision-making; the authority also said Uber failed to inform drivers about its automatic decisions. The violations took place from 2018 to 2022, the agency said.

Uber said it disagreed with the decision and the fine and will file an appeal. "The [Data Protection Authority] examined historic policies that were discontinued years ago," the company said in a written statement. "We take decisions that affect drivers' ability to earn extremely seriously, and we're fully committed to fair treatment. This includes human reviews, robust safeguards, and the opportunity for drivers to appeal our decisions if they believe we made a mistake." This is the fourth time the authority has imposed a fine on Uber.