Uber is facing government scrutiny around the world in the wake of its admission it concealed a massive data breach affecting 57 million drivers and passengers.
The US$68 billion ride-hailing company on Tuesday acknowledged that hackers had stolen the personal information in October last year and that it had paid them US$100,000 to destroy the information and keep the breach quiet.
The global nature of the breach exposes Uber to potential liability in numerous jurisdictions. Many countries and US states have laws requiring companies to inform individuals if their personal information has been compromised.
Authorities in the US, UK, Australia and the Philippines on Wednesday said they were launching investigations.
“Uber’s announcement about a concealed data breach last October raises huge concerns around its data protection policies and ethics,” British Information Commissioner’s Office Deputy Commissioner James Dipple-Johnstone said. “Deliberately concealing breaches from regulators and citizens could attract higher fines for companies.”
Philippine National Privacy Commission Chairman Raymund Enriquez Liboro said that the agency had “summoned” Uber to a meeting yesterday to “shed more light about the incident” and to comply with its data privacy laws.
A spokesperson for the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), which has broad authority to take action against companies engaging in deceptive or unfair practices, said the commission was “closely evaluating the serious issues raised” by the breach and Uber’s failure to disclose it.
Uber reached a settlement with the FTC over privacy and data security issues in August.
State attorneys general in New York, Illinois, Connecticut and Massachusetts confirmed that they were launching investigations.
Uber has not responded to numerous requests for information on the number of countries whose residents were affected by the hack.
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