Private hire drivers' union shows concern over levels of police surveillance on Uber platform

The claim from the App Drivers & Couriers Union (ADCU) comes as Uber appealed Transport for London’s (TfL) decision to refuse renewal of their licence at Westminster Magistrates' Court this week.

The ADCU say that legal documents submitted by Uber to the court reveal a disproportionately high level of police requests for access to the personal data of drivers and passengers.

The Metropolitan Police alone makes 2,000 requests for data each year from Uber’s 24-hour Law Enforcement Team (LERT). Uber also provides direct access to an information portal for 36 out of 45 of the UK’s police forces.

Uber’s legal submissions to the court also detailed their relationship with the National Counter Terrorism Policing Network, the Counter Terrorism Command of the Metropolitan Police and other security services.

The ADCU points out that all Uber drivers are checked at an enhanced level by the Disclosure & Barring Service before being found fit and proper to hold a private hire licence. Whilst the ADCU agrees it is important that all licensed private hire operators should cooperate with police criminal inquiries, the level of surveillance and access to data the police now has on the Uber platform is seen as disproportionate, unjustified and a threat to the civil liberties of drivers, couriers and customers.

With 94% of private hire drivers coming from a BAME background, such police intrusion and surveillance of drivers and couriers at work is a burden which falls most heavily on minority groups.

James Farrar, General Secretary of App Drivers & Couriers Union, said: “We are deeply concerned about the apparent level of ongoing police mass surveillance and intelligence gathering on the Uber platform which this letter reveals. With Uber’s licence hanging by a thread, the rideshare giant is particularly vulnerable to undue pressure from police and regulatory authorities to compromise the personal data protection rights of their drivers, couriers and passengers.“