Uber agrees to protect rider data to settle FTC complaint

The Federal Trade Commission, in a complaint settled on Tuesday, alleged that Uber failed to secure data about rider trips and neglected to monitor employee access to the information.

Uber misrepresented how well it monitored employee access to personal information about users and drivers, and it misstated that it took steps to secure customer data, acting FTC Chairwoman Maureen Ohlhausen said in a statement.

Uber said the allegations date to 2014, and that before the government complaint, it had already put safeguards in place to protect data.

[...] it has strengthened privacy and data security and will keep investing in security programs, the company said.

[...] the FTC alleged in its complaint that after news reports of Uber employees improperly accessing customer data, the company said in November 2014 that it had a strict policy prohibiting employees from viewing the data except for legitimate business purposes.

“This settlement provides an opportunity to work with the FTC to further verify that our programs protect user privacy and personal information,” a company statement said.

Many riders deleted Uber’s app after it tried to capitalize on a New York taxi driver strike in protest of government immigration policies.