Uber faces a high quality of 290 million euros, or greater than $324 million, for violating European Union guidelines that shield information privateness, a Dutch company mentioned Monday.
The company, the Dutch information safety authority, discovered that Uber, whose European headquarters are in Amsterdam, transferred delicate details about its drivers in Europe to the US with out utilizing safety instruments. Private information consists of account particulars, taxi licences, images, identification paperwork and in some instances felony and medical information.
Uber rejected the choice and mentioned it plans to enchantment. “This flawed choice and extraordinary high quality are utterly unjustified,” mentioned Michael Valvo, an Uber spokesman.
In Europe, a legislation often known as The General Data Protection Regulationwhich entered into force in 2018, permits individuals to request their on-line information and restricts how corporations obtain and course of the data. It requires corporations that switch and retailer private information outdoors of Europe to take extra safety measures to make sure its safety.
“Uber didn’t meet GDPR necessities to make sure the extent of information safety with regard to transfers to the US,” Aled Wolfsen, head of the Dutch company, mentioned in an announcement. “That is very critical.”
Uber insists that its cross-border information switch course of has at all times complied with European rules and that it applies GDPR guidelines to the info of all its drivers and prospects who dwell in Europe, no matter the place on the earth they use the corporate’s app.
Dutch authorities launched their investigation on the request of a French group, the Human Rights League, which represented 170 Uber drivers who mentioned Uber violated their information privateness rights.
Uber won’t need to pay the high quality till it decides on the enchantment, which may take as much as 4 years, the corporate mentioned.
