Uber Might Be Getting Into Hot Water Over 'Hell' Software

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Uber has undertaken a concerted effort to clean up its corporate act, but holdovers from its more aggressive era continue getting the ride-hailing firm into trouble. Currently, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is checking into Uber Technologies Inc. to see if it had used software to illegally interfere with its competition from 2014 to 2016.

The program in question, which Uber calls “Hell,” was the focus of an April lawsuit where a former Lyft driver asked for $5 million in damages. By creating dummy accounts, Hell is supposedly able to track the areas where its rivals are doing business and better-compete by adjusting pricing or offering discounts to their customers. It’s also a way to see if Uber employees are double dipping by simultaneously working for Lyft.

It’s not the first time the company has been cited for playing on the fringes of legality. In addition to a high-profile court case against Alphabet’s Waymo over trade secrets, Uber has also been accused of testing self-driving vehicles without state approval, and using its “Greyball” software to hide from police and public officials.

With Hell, things are equally murky. While obviously shady, it may not be illegal. Of course, this is dependent upon the what the FBI probe digs up. But at least one federal judge has dismissed the claims against it already — on the grounds that the information Uber was compiling and using to make business decisions was readily accessible by the general public.

In the aforementioned lawsuit with a former Lyft driver, Uber was being sued for damages for alleged unlawful invasion of privacy and interception of electronic communications and images in violation of the Federal Wiretap Act as amended by the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, the California Invasion of Privacy Act, and common law damages for invasion of privacy. But Jacqueline Scott Corley, a federal magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court of Northern California, granted Uber’s motion to dismiss the complaint with leave to amend.

She said the plaintiff had not showed sufficient proof that Uber had broken the law or intercepted confidential communications. The FBI investigation is likely following up to ensure that is the case, but it has yet to issue an official statement on the subject.

[Source: Reuters]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • FOG FOG on Sep 11, 2017

    I used Lyft earlier this year and the service beat the living crap out of any taxi service I have used. The drive drove for both Uber and Lyft in order to make a living. I guess I can't understand why Uber would think they could hold a driver captive, limiting their income potential. Our driver said that most of his income comes from Lyft because they take better care of their drivers. He only has Uber to cover when he can't get a gig through Lyft. Uber is very interested in using other people to support their business model until they can go driverless. That sounds greedy and foolish.

  • V-Strom rider V-Strom rider on Sep 11, 2017

    Not sure of the situation in the US but here in Australia Uber drivers are resolutely described by Uber as "independent contractors" and definitely not "Uber employees". If that is so then there is no way Uber has any grounds for seeking to prevent these so-called independent contractors from offering their services to other entities. Can't have it both ways (or at least Uber shouldn't be able to have it both ways).

  • Oberkanone My grid hurts!Good luck with installing charger locations at leased locations with aging infrastructure. Perhaps USPS would have better start modernizing it's Post offices to meet future needs. Of course, USPS has no money for anything.
  • Dukeisduke If it's going to be a turbo 4-cylinder like the new Tacoma, I'll pass.BTW, I see lots of Tacomas on the road (mine is a 2013), but I haven't seen any 4th-gen trucks yet.
  • Oberkanone Expect 4Runner to combine best aspects of new Land Cruiser and new Tacoma and this is what I expect from 2025 4Runner.Toyota is REALLY on it's best game recently. Tacoma and Land Cruiser are examples of this.
  • ArialATOMV8 All I hope is that the 4Runner stays rugged and reliable.
  • Arthur Dailey Good. Whatever upsets the Chinese government is fine with me. And yes they are probably monitoring this thread/site.
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