Uber has been hit with an €825 million ($966 million) fine by the Dutch Data Protection Authority for using automated systems to deactivate driver accounts without adequately informing affected drivers, according to a decision dated August 17 and reviewed by Reuters. The penalty could become the second-largest fine ever imposed under Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), as per Reuters. It would rank behind the €1.2 billion penalty imposed on Meta by Ireland in 2023 over the transfer of European Facebook users' data to the United States. The Dutch regulator's deputy chair Monique Verdier stated that "Uber has committed serious infringements" in deactivating driver accounts without warning or human involvement, emphasizing that "From one moment to the next they no longer had any income ... A computer should not make decisions on its own that have (such) major consequences."
The Dutch regulator found that Uber violated drivers' rights by relying on automated decision-making in cases that could have significant consequences for them. Under GDPR rules, such decisions require meaningful human involvement and must provide affected individuals with a way to challenge the outcome. The authority also said Uber failed to properly inform drivers about the automated decisions, treating the issue as serious enough to warrant the substantial penalty. The regulator specifically noted that drivers should have been informed about the automated deactivations, which constituted "serious infringements" under GDPR regulations.
The case relates to incidents involving European drivers between 2018 and 2022 and initially followed a complaint filed in France. The Netherlands handled the case because Uber has its European headquarters there. The investigation involved Uber's use of automated systems to temporarily suspend drivers suspected of fraud. The systems could flag drivers for allegedly taking unnecessary detours to increase fares or accepting rides without intending to complete them. Drivers with persistently low customer ratings could also face permanent suspension, with the Dutch regulator finding that some drivers with low ratings were permanently deactivated automatically. Uber rejected this finding, maintaining that it had never used an automated system to make permanent deactivation decisions.
Uber disputed the decision and said it would appeal, calling the penalty "disproportionate" and arguing that only a limited number of drivers were affected. The company stated that it takes drivers' rights seriously and that its current procedures include human reviews and mechanisms allowing drivers to challenge suspensions. Uber maintained that it did not permanently deactivate such accounts without human review and said it has since changed its practices. The company argued that only 126 drivers across Europe were deactivated in 2021 because of low customer ratings, and that such suspensions were generally short-lived. Uber also noted that the fine was calculated based on a proportion of its annual turnover for 2025.
The decision adds to Uber's regulatory challenges in the Netherlands. In 2024, Dutch authorities separately fined the company €290 million over transfers of European drivers' personal data to the US. According to reports from Reuters, this represents a significant escalation in Uber's regulatory issues across multiple jurisdictions. The case highlights the broader trend of European regulators imposing billions of euros in penalties on major US technology companies for breaches of privacy, competition and digital market rules. US President Donald Trump has criticised these penalties, with a US State Department official describing the fines as the "biggest single source of friction" in US-EU economic relations.
