Unfair and illegal: A class action lawsuit against Uber in the Netherlands over the AI payment system
Uber drivers in the Netherlands and the UK are launching a collective complaint against the company, accusing the AI-based dynamic pricing system of reducing their income and increasing Uber's share of each ride. The system has been in operation since 2020 and is said to have reshaped wages without transparency.
This lawsuit is led by the Worker Info Exchange International (WIE International). About 10,000 Dutch drivers operate under this system, where opaque algorithms determine wages and commissions in real-time instead of the previous system that relied on fixed calculations of distance, time, and commission.
Joint research between Oxford University and WIE showed that 82% of drivers in the UK are earning less per hour compared to before the dynamic pricing system was implemented. WIE expects the same pattern to emerge in the Netherlands. Meanwhile, Uber's commission has risen from about 25% to 29%, and in some rides, Uber's share can reach 50% or more. Drivers' income has also become less stable, widening the inequality gap among them.
WIE confirms that the system violates Article 22 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union, which protects individuals from decisions based solely on automated processing. It states that Uber's algorithm directly determines drivers' wages without human intervention, which infringes on their rights.
The organization adds that Uber refuses to disclose how the algorithm works and has used historical data of drivers to train it without sufficient transparency. WIE believes this is unfair and illegal and warrants compensation. The lawsuit also seeks damages for Uber's illegal transfer of driver data to the United States between 2021 and 2023.