Dutch regulator fines Uber nearly $1 billion over automatic driver deactivations

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, or AP) has imposed a record fine of 824.9 million euros (roughly $966 million) on Uber for violating the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The regulator found that between 2018 and 2022, Uber deactivated driver accounts through fully automated decisions, without any human involvement. As a result, affected drivers suddenly lost their ability to earn income through the platform. The AP concluded that letting a computer alone make decisions with such serious consequences for people breaches GDPR requirements.

The case originated when 171 drivers in France reported these automatic deactivations to a local human rights organization. Because Uber's European headquarters is based in the Netherlands, the AP ultimately took over the investigation. Monique Verdier, deputy chair of the AP, said the drivers lost their income from one moment to the next, adding that a computer should not be allowed to make such consequential decisions on its own.

This is not the first time the AP has penalized Uber. The regulator previously fined the company 600,000 euros in 2018 and 10 million euros in 2023. In 2024, Uber received a 290 million euro fine for improperly transferring European drivers' personal data to the United States. The new fine was set at the maximum allowed amount — four percent of the company's global annual turnover.

According to the AP, Uber has already filed an appeal against the decision.