TLDR
- The Dutch Data Protection Authority has fined Uber €825 million (~$966 million) for automating driver account suspensions without proper human oversight.
- The fine is the second largest ever issued under Europe’s GDPR, behind a €1.2 billion fine against Meta in 2023.
- Uber plans to appeal, calling the fine “disproportionate” and disputing some of the facts cited.
- The case stems from complaints by French drivers between 2018 and 2022, handled by Dutch regulators because Uber’s European HQ is in the Netherlands.
- A class action suit against Uber is being prepared by digital rights group PersonalData.io on behalf of affected drivers.
Uber is facing a nearly $1 billion fine from Dutch regulators over how it handled driver account suspensions, marking one of the biggest GDPR penalties ever handed down.
The Dutch Data Protection Authority has fined Uber €825 million ($966 million) for deactivating driver accounts through automated systems without adequately informing them — the second-largest fine ever issued under Europe's GDPR, behind only the €1.2 billion penalty imposed on… pic.twitter.com/LkcivsEnq9
— Interesting Engineering (@IntEngineering) August 22, 2026
The Dutch Data Protection Authority announced a fine of €825 million, roughly $966 million, against Uber for deactivating driver accounts through automated systems without giving drivers adequate warning or human review of those decisions.
The fine covers incidents between 2018 and 2022 across Europe. It was processed by the Dutch authority because Uber’s European headquarters are based in the Netherlands.
The case was originally triggered by a complaint from a French Uber driver, Brahim Ben Ali, who had his account deactivated in 2019. He went on to collect testimonies from 170 other drivers before bringing the case to the Netherlands.
Ben Ali was supported by Swiss digital rights nonprofit PersonalData.io, which helped drivers gather data about how the automated deactivation decisions were made.
Deputy chair of the Dutch regulator, Monique Verdier, said Uber had “committed serious infringements.” She added: “From one moment to the next they no longer had any income. A computer should not make decisions on its own that have major consequences.”
GDPR rules prohibit decisions made solely by algorithms when those decisions have a major impact on a person’s livelihood. The rules require meaningful human review and a process to challenge such decisions.
Uber disputed several points in the ruling. The company said most suspensions were brief and that no permanent deactivations took place without human review. It also noted that only 126 drivers in Europe were deactivated due to low customer ratings in 2021.
Uber Plans to Appeal
Uber said it will appeal the decision. “We strongly disagree with this decision and disproportionate fine,” a spokesperson said. The company added that its policies include human reviews and that drivers can dispute platform suspensions.
The Dutch regulator calculated the fine as a fraction of Uber’s 2025 annual revenue.
This is not Uber’s first run-in with Dutch regulators. The same authority previously issued a €290 million fine over the handling of drivers’ personal data, and a separate €10 million fine over related issues. All three fines stem from complaints made by the same group of drivers.
Class Action Coming
PersonalData.io founder Paul-Olivier Dehaye confirmed the group is preparing a class action suit to seek compensation for affected drivers. He is also launching a new company called StartClaims to support the litigation and expand into other gig economy cases.
The fine is second only to the €1.2 billion penalty imposed on Meta by Irish regulators in 2023 for transferring European Facebook user data to the United States. Meta is also appealing that decision.
Uber stock (UBER) was up 0.32% at the time of reporting.
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