Uber Agrees To Enhance User Information Protections In Agreement With N.Y. AG
ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Uber will be required to protect its users' personal information, and will pay $20,000, under an agreement with the New York State Attorney General's office announced Wednesday.
The agreement follows an investigation by Attorney General Eric Schneiderman into the maintenance and disclosure of Uber customers' personal information, and reports that Uber executives had access to riders' locations and displayed the information in an aerial view known as "God View," according to a news release.
Separately, in February of last year, Uber notified the Attorney General's office that it had experienced a data breach some months earlier -- in which Uber driver names and driver's license numbers were hacked, the news release said.
The settlement resolves both of the investigations.
"This settlement protects the personal information of Uber riders from potential abuse by company executives and staff, including the real-time locations of riders in an Uber vehicle," Schneiderman said in the release. "We are committed to protecting the privacy of consumers and customers of any product in New York State, as well as that of employees of any company operating here. I strongly encourage all technology companies to regularly review and amend their own policies and procedures to better protect their customers' and employees' private information."
Under the settlement, Uber must encrypt rider geo-location information, and adopt multi-factor authentication that any employee would have to go through to access riders' personal information. Uber must also pay the $20,000 fine for failure to provide timely notice about the data breach.