Dutch regulator fines Uber $966M for firing drivers by algorithm
The Netherlands says Uber let software deactivate drivers' accounts without enough human review — Uber calls the fine unjustified and plans to appeal.
What happened: The Dutch Data Protection Authority fined Uber 825 million euros, about $966 million, one of the largest penalties ever issued under Europe's GDPR privacy law. Regulators found Uber deactivated some drivers' accounts through an automated process without enough warning or human oversight. Deputy chair Monique Verdier said Uber committed serious infringements, adding that a computer should not make decisions on its own that have major consequences. Uber says it will appeal, calling the fine disproportionate and insisting no permanent deactivation happens without a human checking it first.
Why it matters: For drivers, an account suspension isn't a glitch, it's their income disappearing over a disputed complaint about a single trip. Former French Uber driver Brahim Ben Ali said his account was deactivated in 2019; he later gathered testimony from 170 other drivers before filing this complaint in the Netherlands, where Uber's EU headquarters sits. This is the Dutch regulator's third fine against Uber, following 290 million and 10 million euro penalties over how it handles driver data, suggesting a pattern regulators see as unresolved.
How it works, plainly: GDPR restricts companies from letting automated systems make decisions with serious consequences for people without meaningful human involvement. Uber says most suspensions are short and reviewable, and every permanent deactivation gets human review plus an appeal option. Dutch regulators disagree, saying some drivers were permanently cut off with no human in the loop. The two sides are essentially arguing about where automated flagging ends and a real human decision begins, and GDPR does not clearly define that line.
The rollout: Beyond the appeal, Paul-Olivier Dehaye of the digital-rights group PersonalData.io, who helped drivers build the case, is launching a company called StartClaims to pursue compensation lawsuits, starting with Uber, then other gig platforms and ad-tech firms. Critics like writer John Gruber counter that this ruling could stop Uber from using software to catch drivers who scam riders or skip pickups, since that is exactly the kind of monitoring being challenged. Expect more legal wrangling over what human review has to actually look like.