Uber Faces €10 Million Fine from Dutch Privacy Authority for Data Transparency Issues

The Dutch Privacy Authority has imposed a fine of ten million euros on the ride-hailing platform, “Uber,” for its lack of transparency in handling the data of its European drivers.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority announced that it imposed the fine after more than 170 French drivers filed a complaint with the Human Rights and Citizen League. The French advocacy group sent a complaint to the Netherlands, where Uber’s European headquarters are located.

The Dutch Data Protection Authority clarified that the company was not clear about “the duration of time it retained European drivers’ data and to which countries outside of Europe it was transferred.”

In a statement, she added, “Uber has also made it difficult for drivers to exercise their privacy rights.”

Users have the right, for example, to access the data to correct or delete it, as stated by the Dutch regulatory authority.

However, Uber made it “unnecessarily complicated” for drivers to submit their data request. There was a digital form available for drivers, but it was very difficult to find in the application, and the information shared afterwards was “difficult to interpret”.

Furthermore, the company did not clearly state in its privacy policy the duration for which it retains driver data and the specific protective measures taken when transferring it to countries outside the European Economic Area.

The head of the Dutch Data Protection Authority, Aleid Wolfsen, emphasized that “drivers have the right to know how Uber processes their personal data,” but “the matter was unclear.” He added, “If you do not know what is happening to your data, you do not know if you are being exploited or treated unfairly, and you cannot exercise your rights.”(AFP)