The App Drivers and Couriers Union (ADCU) launched a legal challenge against Uber over its alleged use of algorithmic "robo-firing" to dismiss drivers from Portugal and the UK.

The ADCU filed a lawsuit in the Netherlands, where Uber's European headquarters and database are located, alleging that four drivers from the UK and Portugal claimed that they were unfairly blocked from the Uber app without proper explanation, and that Uber uses automated algorithms to make decisions about driver performance and account deactivation. 

The union also accused Uber of not giving drivers access to evidence against them or the opportunity to challenge decisions.

Uber claimed that driver accounts are only deactivated after manual reviews by a specialist team, and that they had provides the requested personal data and explanations as required by the EU's GDPR. The suit was the first case of its kind filed under Article 22 of the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which protects against automated decision-making.

The case was seen to have implications for worker rights in the European Union, including challenging how gig economy companies classify and manage their workers and demanding greater transparency in how algorithms are used to manage workers. It also tested the limits of the GDPR in protecting individuals from automated decision-making.

➕ October 2023. The District Court of Amsterdam ordered Uber to pay EUR 584,000 in penalty payments to the fired drivers, with EUR 4,000 accruing for each additional day of non-compliance. It also ordered Uber to explain the automated decision that led to the dismissal of the drivers. In the ruling, Judge R A Dudok van Heel said that it may be a case of Uber “deliberately trying to withhold certain information” because it does not want to give an “insight into its business and revenue model”.