Dutch regulator fines Uber €825m over driver account bans

The Dutch regulator has imposed a €825 million fine on ride-hailing company Uber for deactivating driver accounts without informing them, according to a recent ruling. This is the second-largest fine ever issued under Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), following a €1.2 billion fine imposed on Meta (formerly Facebook) in 2023 for unlawfully transferring European data to the United States.

The case against Uber stems from incidents in Europe between 2020 and 2022, which were brought before the court in the Netherlands due to the company's European headquarters being located in Amsterdam. Uber maintains that it takes drivers' rights seriously and has both human reviews and dispute mechanisms in place for platform suspensions.

However, the company strongly disagrees with the decision and the fine, calling it disproportionate and unjustified. This ruling follows a €290 million fine imposed by the Netherlands on Uber two years ago for sending European taxi drivers' personal data to the US in violation of EU rules. European regulators have imposed billions of euros in penalties on major US technology companies like Meta, Google, Apple, and Amazon in recent years for privacy, competition, and digital market violations.