Skip to main content

Uber pays New York attorney general $20,000 to settle in 'God View' dispute

uber god view settlement new year eve
Image used with permission by copyright holder
The New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is expected to announce a settlement with Uber later today regarding a 14-month investigation conducted by his office over the privacy and security practices of Uber.

In particular, Schneiderman has been investigating the use of a “God View,” which Uber apparently used to track riders. People at Uber were able to use private information to track individual riders on its platform.

BuzzFeed reports that Uber has agreed to a $20,000 settlement penalty for its intrusive system. It has also agreed to more rigorous security standards, like password and encryption locks for its riders on the system, ensuring that engineers and other employees at Uber are unable to stalk riders.

The investigation also covered a data breach on September 2014, which was not reported to the attorney general’s office until February 2015. Uber faces another $20,000 fine for not reporting the data breach in a timely fashion.

Uber has made several privacy and security changes in the last 12 months as it tries to fix its reputation. The company has received quite a lot of bad press, in part due to its own negligence with executives offering to pay $1 million to “dig up dirt” on journalists and increased regulatory tension in San Francisco and New York.

That poor reputation doesn’t seem to be hurting the company’s value, with $4.9 billion in total financing in 2015. Uber is currently valued at around $50 billion, but doesn’t have plans in the near future to go public, with internal documents hinting at a late 2016 or early 2017 initial public offering.

In that time, Uber will face a myriad of other issues including the start of autonomous driving, the Lyft and General Motors deal, Google’s self-driving empire, and drone programs removing the need for delivery drivers — another area in which Uber is attempting to expand.

Editors' Recommendations

David Curry
Former Digital Trends Contributor
David has been writing about technology for several years, following the latest trends and covering the largest events. He is…
Samsung just announced another new phone (and two Android tablets)
Official product renders of the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE.

Just months after releasing the Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5, Samsung has introduced another new phone and two tablets. The latest additions to the FE family are the Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, Galaxy Tab S9 FE, and the Galaxy Tab S9 FE Plus.

The FE series is designed to offer an affordable entry point to the Samsung Galaxy universe while still providing many of the same features found in more expensive models. In announcing the new products, TM Roh, president and head of Mobile Experience Business at Samsung Electronics, said: “Our new FE devices are packed with crowd-pleasing premium capabilities that, on their own or as part of a connected ecosystem, let Galaxy users maximize their creativity and productivity.”
Samsung Galaxy S23 FE

Read more
Get an unlocked iPhone 14 Pro Max for under $900 with this deal
The iPhone 14 Pro Max next to a green pepper.

Backmarket has one of the best iPhone deals at the moment with the iPhone 14 Pro Max available for $887, reduced from $1,099. The sizeable saving is in part thanks to this particular iPhone 14 Pro Max being a refurbished model. Don't let that put you off though. When buying through Backmarket, it's a verified refurbished model that has been through many testing processes to guarantee it's in fantastic condition. It comes with a one-year warranty too along with a free 30-day return window if you're concerned. Sound good? Here's what you need to know about the iPhone 14 Pro Max.

Why you should buy the iPhone 14 Pro Max
Back when it launched, we considered the iPhone 14 Pro Max to be "nearly perfect". It has a huge 6.7-inch OLED display with a resolution of 2796 x 1290. Up to 2,000 nits of brightness are possible in the right situation while there's also a 120Hz ProMotion refresh rate to ensure silky smooth browsing and scrolling.

Read more
Google just announced the Pixel Watch 2. Is it any good?
All three colors of the Google Pixel Watch 2 lined up together.

Google lifted the lid on the Google Pixel Watch 2 at a packed event that also witnessed the introduction of its Google Pixel 8 series phones. Aesthetically, barely anything has changed, which is mostly welcome because the Pixel-branded smartwatch stands out with its sloping glass design. But there are changes under the hood that actually push it ahead of the competition in a few ways.

But will all of this come together for a cohesive smartwatch? Here's everything we know so far.

Read more