Uber claims US regulators collect too much data on its passengers
The ride-hailing app says data of more than 11 million customers has been collected by agencies, often without any explanation of why it is needed. The data collected from Uber is anonymized, but still includes GPS coordinates, addresses and route maps. Uber has claimed that transport regulators collect too much data on its passengers and drivers, marking the latest chapter in the ride-hailing giant’s fraught relationship with authorities.
In a report released on Tuesday, Uber showed that state and local agencies – such as public utility and taxi commissions – requested data affecting more than 11m user accounts and half a million drivers between July and December 2015.
Regulators use the data to monitor the volume of rides and the drivers’ Uber uses. The data is anonymized, but still includes GPS coordinates, addresses and route maps. Since some of the data is available to the public through records requests, the practice raises privacy issues for customers and competitive concerns for Uber, the company argues.
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/12/uber-us-regulators-data-passengers-report?
• Who collects too much data? Uber or the regulators?