Uber Uses 'Secret Program' Greyball To Hide From Regulators

Uber has been using a secret program to prevent undercover regulators from shutting down the taxi-hailing service in cities around the world.

The software, called Greyball, was developed to help protect the company from "violations of terms of service".

But data collected through Uber's phone app was also used to identify officials monitoring its drivers.

Uber has acknowledged that Greyball has been used in multiple countries, the New York Times reports.

The tool has enabled the company to monitor users' habits.

But it also identified regulators posing as ordinary passengers while investigating whether Uber was breaking local laws governing taxis.

The software works by collecting geolocation data and credit card information to determine whether the user is linked to an institution or law enforcement authority.

A "fake" version of the app would then allow those individuals suspected of attempting to entrap drivers to hail a cab, only to have their booking cancelled.

The existence of the Greyball program was revealed in an article published in the New York Times on Friday, which attributed the information to four current and former Uber employees, who were not named.

"This program denies ride requests to fraudulent users who are violating our terms of service," Uber said in a statement.

"Whether that's people aiming to physically harm drivers, competitors looking to disrupt our operations, or opponents who collude with officials on secret 'stings' meant to entrap drivers," it added.

It comes in the same week that the chief executive of Uber, Travis Kalanick, was forced to apologise after a video emerged of him swearing at one of the company's drivers. Just two weeks earlier he apologised for "abhorrent" sexism at the company.

Uber used these methods to operate in cities like Boston, Las Vegas, Portland, and even Paris, France, without the authorities or city officials finding out. When an officer tried to request an Uber, the app would display “ghost” cars, which would never pick them up. In some cases, authorities will not see any cars on the app at all.

In 2014, the ride-hailing service began operating in Portland without the city's permission, violating the city’s Private For-Hire Transportation Regulations and Administrative Rules.

     

Erich England, a code enforcement inspector in Portland, Oregon, posed as a customer, trying to catch a ride in order to build a case against the company. England and city officials recorded themselves requesting multiple rides through the app, each of which was quickly canceled.

Unknown to England, he was already tagged by Uber’s software, and all of the rides he saw were fake.

Three days after launching, Uber was sued by the city for operating without a permit, and the company agreed to suspend its operations in Portland for a period.

Uber claims this software was developed to protect its drivers from code enforcers that are working with taxi interests.

“This program denies ride requests to users who are violating our terms of service — whether that’s people aiming to physically harm drivers, competitors looking to disrupt our operations, or opponents who collude with officials on secret ‘stings’ meant to entrap drivers,” Uber said in a statement, according to the New York Times.

The company also allegedly watched people that were opening and closing the app near government offices, searched through users’ social media profiles and credit card information, and used several other indicators to single out any police officers or individuals that might be associated with government agencies.

Those individuals were then “Greyballed,” or blocked from accessing the real app.

Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said he is still “very concerned that Uber may have purposefully worked to thwart the city’s job to protect the public,” according to a statement released on Friday after the New York Times report.

At least 50 Uber employees knew about the existence of Greyball, which was approved by their legal team, according to the report.

Uber has also been in legal battles over sexual harassment charges and allegedly stealing intellectual property from Google parent company Alphabet's self-driving car company, Waymo.

from Taxi Leaks http://ift.tt/2lHlnEY
via IFTTT