Latest Sharing Economy Headlines

All the headlines from our Sharing Economy Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Washington Selects Operator for Rideshare Driver Resource Center

Oct 24 2022 // The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries announced an agreement with the Drivers Union to create a Drivers Resource Center. The center will support drivers who provide ride services for passengers through...

Ride-Hailing Firm Lyft Hikes Service Fee for Rides as Insurance Costs Rise

Oct 18 2022 // Lyft Inc. is increasing the service fee its U.S. riders pay directly to the company to cover higher insurance costs, the ride-hailing firm said. The increase averages less than 50 cents per trip nationally, a Lyft...

State Appeals Court Invalidates Uber’s Hyperlinked User Arbitration Pact

Oct 13 2022 // An arbitration agreement buried behind a hyperlink that does not give consumers clear notice they are waiving their right to a jury trial when they agree to the company’s terms and conditions is not valid, a...

Uber Executive’s Conviction Puts Spotlight on Secrecy About Hacking

Oct 11 2022 // The conviction of Uber Technologies Inc.’s former security chief on Oct. 5 has raised the specter that a high-profile criminal charge and newly expanded federal rules may force companies to be more transparent when...

Uber’s Former Security Chief Convicted of Data Hack Coverup

Oct 6 2022 // Uber Technologies Inc.’s former security chief was convicted of concealing a massive data breach in a case that prosecutors tied to the company’s troubled past under its original leadership. Joe Sullivan was...

Uber Says Lapsus$-Linked Hacker Responsible for Breach

Sep 20 2022 // Uber Technologies Inc said on Monday a hacker affiliated with the Lapsus$ hacking group was responsible for a cyber attack that forced the ride-hailing company to shut several internal communications temporarily last...

Uber Probes Hacker’s Claim to Have Penetrated Key Databases

Sep 16 2022 // Uber Technologies Inc. has shut down internal Slack messaging as it investigates a cybersecurity breach by a hacker claiming to have accessed sensitive company data. Employees on Thursday received a Slack message from an...

Uber Pays New Jersey Back Taxes of $100M Over Driver Employment Classification

Sep 13 2022 // Uber Technologies Inc. said on Monday it back-paid New Jersey $100 million in unemployment taxes over classifying drivers as contractors, but added that it did not agree with the state’s view that drivers were...

Maryland Man Died When Hit in Road After Lyft Driver Ordered Him Out of Car: Police

Jul 28 2022 // A Maryland man has died after police say his Lyft driver ordered him out of the car in the middle of a Delaware highway. Delaware State Police say the crash occurred Sunday around 2 a.m. A group of six friends ordered a...

Uber Admits Covering Up 2016 Hacking, Avoids Prosecution in U.S. Settlement

Jul 26 2022 // Uber Technologies Inc. on Friday accepted responsibility for covering up a 2016 data breach that affected 57 million passengers and drivers, as part of a settlement with U.S. prosecutors to avoid criminal charges. In...

Uber Settles Lawsuit Over Disabled Riders, Vows to Waive Fees

Jul 19 2022 // Uber Technologies Inc. will pay more than $2 million and waive wait time fees for disabled passengers to settle U.S. allegations that the ride share company had violated the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Department...

Uber Sued by More Than 500 Female Passengers Over Sexual Assault Complaints

Jul 14 2022 // Uber Technologies Inc. is being sued by more than 500 women across the US who claim to have been assaulted by drivers on the platform. The complaint, filed by Slater, Slater, Schulman LLP in San Francisco, alleges that...

Lyft Reaches $25 Million Settlement of Claims it Hid Safety Problems Before IPO

Jun 20 2022 // Lyft Inc has reached a $25 million settlement to resolve shareholder claims that the ride-hailing company concealed safety problems, including sexual assaults by drivers, prior to its 2019 initial public offering. The...

Massachusetts High Court Nixes Gig Worker Ballot Measure Sought by Uber, Lyft

Jun 15 2022 // Transportation and delivery network companies including Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart have been dealt a setback in Massachusetts as the state’s high court has rejected their ballot proposals that sought to both...

Airbnb Beefing Up Guest Services With Satisfaction Guarantees, AirCover Protection

May 12 2022 // Wednesday morning Airbnb Inc. revealed what it’s calling its “biggest change in a decade.” Beyond modifications to its user interface and nifty new bells and whistles, it’s also addressing one of...

Florida Man Charged with Fraud After Claiming He Was in Uber Crash

May 2 2022 // A South Florida man has been charged in connection with what appears to be a new twist on auto insurance fraud. State and local authorities said that Victor Van Vickery, 33, of Delray Beach, claimed to be in a Uber ride...

Alabama, Georgia Lawmakers Make Uber, Grubhub Drivers Independent Contractors

Apr 5 2022 // Alabama and Georgia are poised to join the ranks of those states making it clear that drivers for Uber, Lyft, Grubhub and other delivery and ride-sharing apps should be considered independent contractors, not employees...

Grubhub, Uber Eats, Postmates Must Face Diners’ Lawsuit Over U.S. Restaurant Prices

Mar 31 2022 // A U.S. judge on Wednesday said Grubhub, Uber Eats and Postmates must face an antitrust lawsuit by diners who accused them of driving up menu prices by exploiting their dominance in meal deliveries during the COVID-19...

Rideshare Riders Could Get Stuck with Medical Bills in a Crash

Mar 30 2022 // In the early hours of Sept. 12, 2020, Denver chef Brian Fritts, 32, was riding in the backseat of a Lyft car when another vehicle crashed into it and drove off, leaving him with six crushed vertebrae and a broken jaw. His...

Judges Tosses Maryland Family’s Suit Blaming Uber for Driver’s Killing by Passenger

Feb 7 2022 // A federal judge in Baltimore on Thursday dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc. filed by the family of a rideshare driver who was killed by a passenger in 2019. U.S. District Judge Catherine...