Uber, 290 million fine in the Netherlands: violates driver data regulations

Uber has been sanctioned by Dpa, the Dutch data protection authority, with a EUR 290 million fine for transferring sensitive data of its European drivers to the US without complying with the protection standards required in the Old Continent. This is, Bloomberg reports, the largest fine ever received by Uber globally, as well as the highest ever issued by the Dpa.

Uber, is the Dutch authority's accusation, collected information on its drivers - such as information on taxi licences or location, but in some cases also medical and criminal records - and transferred it to its headquarters in the US without using tools to adequately protect privacy, thus making it 'insufficiently protected'.

A spokesperson for the platform Uber called the fine "completely unjustified", claiming that the transfer process was compliant with European regulation and announcing that the fine will be appealed. The investigation arose after more than 170 French drivers had complained to a human rights group and was initiated in the Netherlands as this is where Uber's European headquarters is based.

This is the third fine imposed by the DPA on Uber, after the American multinational had already been sanctioned a first time for failing to provide sufficient transparency on the retention period of European drivers' data and the non-European countries to which they were transferred, and a second time for failing to report a data breach in time.