Four fired Uber drivers turned to the court in Amsterdam today.They accused Uber of firing workers through automated systems. This is stated on the website of their lawyer Anton Ekkers.
They are three drivers from the United Kingdom and one from Portugal. They were, they say, sent away from Uber after the Uber algorithm detected "fraudulent activity." The drivers contradict this. However, Uber argues that fraud already exists when a driver turns away a customer. The company also considers strategically logging out a driver to raise fare prices to be fraud. According to the drivers, Uber never explained the dismissal. Nor were they given the opportunity to object.
European privacy law GDPR prescribes that algorithms may not determine whether an employee should be fired. Such a decision must always be made by a human being. The use of algorithms at Uber is more often the subject of criticism. Last June, two British Uber drivers started a lawsuit against the cab company. They wanted to know what data the company collected about them, and how this information was used to make decisions about them.
