Washington: Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to settle US claims that the ride-sharing company deceived consumers by failing to monitor employee access to personal information and by failing to reasonably secure sensitive data.
Uber has agreed to implement a privacy program and obtain regular, independent audits, the Federal Trade Commission said in a statement on Tuesday. As a result of Uber’s actions, the FTC said, an intruder was able to access personal information about company drivers in May 2014, including more than 100,000 names and driver’s license numbers.
“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,” FTC chairwoman Maureen Ohlhausen said.
According to the agency, Uber developed an automated system in 2014 for monitoring employee access to consumer personal information, but stopped using it less than a year after it was put in place. The FTC also said that despite Uber’s claim that data were securely stored within its databases, Uber’s security practices failed to provide reasonable security to prevent unauthorized access.
Uber didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Bloomberg
