Uber €825m GDPR Fine: Netherlands Case

The Netherlands’ Data Protection Authority fined Uber €825 million for using automated systems to suspend driver accounts between 2020 and 2022 without adequate notice or meaningful human oversight. The penalty under the EU General Data Protection Regulation marks the second-largest GDPR fine to date, after Ireland’s €1.2 billion action against Meta in 2023. Regulators said the actions violated drivers’ rights to be informed about automated decision-making and to contest such decisions, as suspensions significantly affected drivers’ ability to work. Uber contends the decision is disproportionate and said it now requires human review and an appeals mechanism for suspensions, and it plans to appeal the ruling. The case originated with a complaint in France but was heard in the Netherlands due to Uber’s European headquarters being in Amsterdam. Authorities noted the violations involved automated judgments over fraud suspicions and driver behavior during 2020–2022.