“Remember when Uber employees were reportedly tracking their ex-girlfriends and Beyoncé with a secret God View feature?
Uber just admitted that it had flaws in its privacy guarantees. The ride-hailing giant agreed to settle charges from the Federal Trade Commission that it deceived customers by failing to monitor employee access to their personal information and that it failed to secure sensitive consumer data stored in the cloud.
“Uber failed consumers in two key ways: First by misrepresenting the extent to which it monitored its employees’ access to personal information about users and drivers, and second by misrepresenting that it took reasonable steps to secure that data,” FTC Acting Chairman Maureen K. Ohlhausen said in a statement. “This case shows that, even if you’re a fast-growing company, you can’t leave consumers behind: you must honor your privacy and security promises.”
As part of its settlement agreement, Uber will implement a new privacy program, and be regularly and independently audited every two years for the next 20 years. Uber is also prohibited from misrepresenting how it monitors internal access to consumer information and how it protects consumer data.”
Author: Emma Hinchliffe