Uber Faces €825 Million Dutch Fine Over Driver Suspensions

Uber Technologies Inc. has been fined €825 million ($963 million) by Dutch authorities for using automated systems to suspend driver accounts, in what is the second-largest penalty under the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation.

The fine covers the period of 2020 to 2022, according to a statement from the Dutch Data Protection Authority on Friday. Uber violated the drivers’ right to be informed of automatic decision-making around their accounts, according to Reuters, which first reported the penalty.

“We strongly disagree with this decision and disproportionate fine, which we will appeal,” Uber said in an emailed statement. The practices covered by the decision were discontinued years ago, according to the statement.

The EU’s GDPR, which is enforced by national authorities, regulates how companies can collect and use personal data and is seen as a global benchmark for data protection. The only bigger penalty under the law was when Meta Platforms Inc. was fined €1.2 billion by Irish regulators for transferring European user data to the US.

Uber’s European headquarters are in the Netherlands.

The fine relates to the firm’s temporary fraud waitlisting process and ratings-based deactivations in Europe, practices it ended in 2021 and 2022, respectively, according to an Uber spokesperson.

Shares of Uber initially fell less than 1% before rebounding and turning positive.

Uber has previously been fined by the Dutch regulator over data protection issues, including a €290 million fine in 2024 over the transfer of drivers’ personal data to the US.