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🇬🇧 United Kingdom /Crime & Justice

Uber fined $966m by Dutch regulator for automated driver suspensions

From The Guardian · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Official statement Outcome reported
  • The Dutch data protection authority fined Uber €825 million ($966 million) for using automated systems to deactivate driver accounts without adequate human review or notification.
  • The penalty is the second-largest issued under Europe's GDPR, with Uber stating it will appeal the decision, calling the fine disproportionate.
  • The regulator cited serious infringements, emphasizing that automated decisions with major consequences on drivers' livelihoods require human oversight.

Uber faces a hefty €825 million ($966 million) fine from Dutch regulators for its automated deactivation of driver accounts. The Dutch data protection authority's decision, issued on August 17, marks the second-largest penalty ever imposed under Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

We strongly disagree with this decision and disproportionate fine.

— Uber spokespersonResponding to the Dutch data protection authority's decision to fine Uber.

Regulators found that Uber committed "serious infringements" by deactivating drivers without warning or human involvement, leaving them without income "from one moment to the next." The authority stressed that computer systems should not make decisions with such significant consequences, mandating meaningful human review and appeal processes for decisions impacting employment.

Uber has vowed to appeal the fine, with a spokesperson calling it "disproportionate." The company asserts it takes drivers' rights seriously and that its policies incorporate human reviews and opportunities for drivers to dispute suspensions. Uber claims that suspensions were typically brief and that permanent deactivations were never automated, though the Dutch agency stated that drivers with low ratings were sometimes permanently deactivated by computer.

Uber has committed serious infringements” by deactivating driver accounts without warning or human involvement.

— Monique VerdierThe Dutch authority's deputy chair explaining the reasoning behind the fine.

This case, stemming from a French complaint and concerning incidents between 2018 and 2022, was handled by the Dutch regulator due to Uber's European headquarters being in the Netherlands. The fine is part of a broader trend of European regulators imposing billions in penalties on large U.S. tech companies under privacy, competition, and digital market rules.

From one moment to the next they no longer had any income … A computer should not make decisions on its own that have (such) major consequences.

— Monique VerdierThe Dutch authority's deputy chair highlighting the impact of automated decisions on drivers.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by The Guardian in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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