The ride-hailing company had for years used Greyball, which effectively changes the app view for specific riders. The technology uses data from the Uber app and other methods to identify and circumvent officials who aimed to ticket or apprehend drivers in cities that opposed Uber’s operations. Uber confirmed the existence of Greyball last week.
Uber is “expressly prohibiting its use to target action by local regulators going forward,” Uber’s chief security officer, Joe Sullivan, said in a blog post on Wednesday.
Sullivan said Uber had started a review of the program, and “it will take some time to ensure this prohibition is fully enforced.”
Uber’s efforts to repair its relations with regulators come amid a string of missteps that have sparked consumer backlash and raised investor concern. A former Uber employee last month published a blog post describing a workplace where sexual harassment was common and went unpunished. The blog post prompted an internal investigation.
Then, Bloomberg released a video that showed Kalanick berating a Uber driver who had complained about cuts to rates paid to drivers, resulting in Kalanick making a public apology. In addition, at least three high level executives have left Uber in the last couple of weeks.
