Uber fined €290 million by the Netherlands for sharing personal data with the US

The world´s most popular ridesharing company, Uber has been fined €290 million by the Netherlands for sharing personal data of drivers with the United States in violation of European rules, reported Dutch data protection watchdog DPA. 

Why Uber was fined €290 million for sharing data

The immense fine, claimed officially in July by a collective complaint from the French Human Rights League, listing more than 170 taxi drivers, stated that Uber had violated European regulations by transferring personal data to the US; “This constitutes a serious violation of the General Data Protection Regulation.”

Since Uber´s European headquarters are in the Netherlands, the case was forwarded to the DPA, which issued Uber´s responsibility for failing to protect the personal data of European drivers. The DPA stated that Uber had been sharing personal information, including account details, taxi licences, location data, photos, payment details, identity documents, and in some cases even criminal and medical data of its drivers.  

“In Europe, the GDPR protects the fundamental rights of people, by requiring businesses and governments to handle personal data with due care,” said Aleid Wolfsen, the chairman of the Dutch regulator. “Sadly, this is not self-evident outside Europe. Think of governments that can tap data on a large scale.”

Will Uber pay the immense fine for sharing data?

DPA released a statement, saying that Uber has now stopped the unlawful practise of sharing data, yet Uber spokesperson Caspar Nixon said to the Press; “This flawed decision and extraordinary fine are completely unjustified.” 

He emphasised; “Uber´s cross-border data transfer process was compliant with GDPR during a 3-year period of immense uncertainty between the EU and the US,” and said he was confident that “common sense will prevail.” 

Head of policy for the tech industry association CCIA, of which Uber is a member, Alexandre Roure expressed his support of Uber, claiming that DPA´s decision “ignores reality.” “The busiest internet route in the world could not simply be put on hold for three entire years while governments worked to establish a new legal framework for  these data flows.” 

While Uber can appeal the decision with the DPA, and if unsuccessful can file a case to the Dutch courts, the appeal process would take at least four years, with all fines becoming suspended until “all legal resources have been exhausted,” said the DPA. The Dutch data watchdog had previously fined Uber for €10 million in January this year. The case similarly reported Uber´s infringement of privacy regulations of European drivers.