Tag Archives: Transportation Network Companies
Stolen Uber User Logins Are For Sale On The Dark Web: Only $1 Each
by Robert Hackett, Fortune magazine
The information is being advertised for sale on the black market AlphaBay, a website that can only be accessed through the Tor browser, an anonymity-preserving network used by political dissidents, privacy-minded Internet users and criminals. One person using the alias “Courvoisier” claims to have “thousands” of “hacked accounts” for sale, each for as little as $1. Read More ›
Uber’s Business Model Could Change Your Work
by Farhad Manjoo, The New York Times
The rise of Uber-like jobs is the logical culmination of an economic and tech system that holds efficiency as its paramount virtue. … “Can you imagine if this turns into a Mechanical Turk economy, where everyone is doing piecework at all odd hours, and no one knows when the next job will come, and how much it will pay? What kind of private lives can we possibly have, what kind of relationships, what kind of families?” said Robert B. Reich, an economist at the University of California, Berkeley who was the secretary of labor during the Clinton administration. Read More ›
Key Issues For Returning California Legislature
by Jeremy B. White and Laurel Rosenhall, The Sacramento Bee
Expect debates about consumer data, Internet privacy and regulation of some Web-based businesses to loom large this session. The tech lobby beefed up its presence in Sacramento last year, with the Internet Association opening an office here – its first office outside Washington, D.C. The group was instrumental in rallying ride-sharing services like Uber and Lyft to oppose legislation increasing their insurance requirements. A similar effort to regulate home-sharing services is likely to emerge in the Legislature this year. … The Assembly has established a new committee devoted to privacy and consumer protection, chaired by Assemblyman Mike Gatto. Read More ›
S.F., L.A. Sue Uber ‘To Protect Consumers’; Lyft Settles Charges
by Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle
Privately held Uber last week raised $1.2 billion in funding, giving it a valuation of $40 billion — more than CBS, American Airlines or Kraft Foods. But the San Francisco company continues to anger regulators. In the past week, Uber was banned in India, Spain and Thailand and threatened with a ban in Portland, Ore. … Gascón laid out several allegations against Uber. Uber falsely claims that its driver background checks are superior to those for taxi driversUber charges passengers a $1 “safe rides fee” … and falsely claims that money goes toward “industry-leading” background checks.
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We Can’t Trust Uber
by Zeynep Tufekci and Brayden King, The New York Times (op-ed)
Uber argues that it’s doing only what other technology companies regularly do. That may be true but it only underlines why we need oversight mechanisms that cover all of them. … We need information fiduciaries: independent, external bodies that oversee how data is used, backed by laws that ensure that individuals can see, correct and opt out of data collection. The European Union has established strict controls on personal data that include provisions of privacy, limited and legitimate use and user access to their own data. That shows that accountability is possible. Read More ›
Leaked Transcript Shows Geico’s Stance Against Uber, Lyft
by Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle
The largest insurer, State Farm, said it would not cover ride-service activities. “We do not insure livery use, therefore, customers should not depend on their personal auto insurance coverage to protect them while driving for a ride-sharing service like Uber or Lyft,” State Farm spokesman Sevag Sarkissian wrote in an e-mail. “A commercial auto insurance policy is needed to insure against livery use exposures.” Allstate, the third-largest, has a similar policy. Read More ›
Uber Clueless On Women, Privacy, The Press And Taking The ‘God View’
Forbes reports: “Julia Allison, an attendee at a launch party in Chicago in September 2011, says Uber treated guests to Creepy Stalker View, showing them the whereabouts and movements of 30 Uber users in New York in real time. She recognized half of the people listed and texted one of them, entrepreneur Peter Sims, revealing that she knew his current whereabouts.” Read More ›
Fatal Accident Tests Lyft’s $1 Million Insurance Policy
by Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle
While a driver is providing a ride or on the way to pick up a passenger, Lyft offers $1 million in liability insurance, and $1 million in uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage. … California legislators recently passed a bill to require coverage when a driver is logged into the companies’ apps but hasn’t yet been matched with a passenger. The mandated coverage, set to take effect July 1, would top off at $200,000. Read More ›
The Sharing Economy: 21st Century Technology, 19th Century Worker Protections
by Amanda Armstrong, In These Times
Uber’s intensive lobbying over the summer reduced AB 2293 to a shadow of its original self. As noted by the Consumer Federation of California, in its final form the bill establishes insurance minimums far below those required of taxi, limo, and other companies that provide similar services. But the bill was flawed even at its inception, as it never sought to protect workers. AB 2293 makes drivers legally responsible for carrying liability insurance for passengers, pedestrians, and other motorists, while withholding from drivers and their family members guarantees of compensation or support in the event that they are injured or killed on the job. Read More ›
Gov. Brown Signs Insurance Bill for Uber and Competitors
by Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times
AB 2293 ensures that drivers for services such as Uber and Lyft don’t rely on personal insurance policies when engaging in commercial activities. Firms must provide $50,000 coverage for injuries to a single passenger, $100,000 for all occupants of a car and have $200,000 worth of coverage available for victims of more serious mishaps. State Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones instead backs a proposal at the California Public Utilities Commission, which is expected to incorporate provisions of AB 2293 into proposed regulations now being considered. Read More ›
Lyft, Uber back insurance measure
by Carolyn Said, San Francisco Chronicle
Until two days ago, Uber and Lyft had campaigned ferociously against the bill. The last-minute deal to lower insurance coverage won both companies’ support. The Consumer Attorneys of California, which originally backed the bill, said the new version is too watered-down. A UC San Diego political science professor said the process showed Uber and Lyft flexing new PR and lobbying muscles – successfully. “They had an ability to mobilize grassroots support that’s almost unparalleled because of the digital reach of their consumer network. If I buy a Coke, Coke doesn’t have my e-mail. If I ride Uber, Uber does have my e-mail.” Read More ›