Snag-a-ride giant Uber has agreed to pay a $20,000 fine in a settlement dating back to 2014 with New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman. At least things have finally come to a close after a long 14-month investigation.
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Uber has maintained that the executive who accessed God View to locate the reporter did so because she “was 30 minutes late to a meeting”, though the company acknowledges that he exhibited “poor judgement” in making the decision to violate her privacy. Moving forward, the ride-sharing service must also encrypt geo-location information and adopt multi-factor authentication, among other data security practices. Uber also collects data from drivers, including driver license information, vehicle registration and licensing information, and vehicle inspection documentation.
The company has said that they will also take measures to limit the access to geo-location information that certain employees have access to through business controls.
The existence of the tool went largely unknown to the public until BuzzFeed News reported that an executive had tracked one of its reporters and accessed her ride data without her permission.
In 2014, Uber discovered that a security breach had exposed the data of approximately 50,000 drivers across multiple USA states. This is in response to calls for protection of its riders’ personal information.
As part of the planned settlement, Uber has also agreed to make changes to its privacy and security practices. General Business Law § 899-aa requires notice be provided to affected individuals and various government agencies including Schneiderman’s office “in the most expedient time possible and without unreasonable delay”. Because Uber failed to do so until February 26, 2015, the company has been slapped with a small fine of $20,000.
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“In the event the Assurance is voided or breached, Respondent expressly agrees and acknowledges that this Assurance shall in no way bar or otherwise preclude NYAG from commencing, conducting or prosecuting any investigation, action or proceeding”, the settlement reads. “We are pleased to have reached an agreement with the New York Attorney General that resolves these questions”. “I was tracking you, ‘” Schneiderman’s office said.
