The U.S. Justice Department appears to be probing Ubers use of software to avoid regulators

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The U.S. Justice Department appears to be probing Uber’s use of software to avoid regulators

The practice, known as “greyballing,” is the subject of the investigation, which may be criminal in nature.

https://www.recode.net/2017/5/4/15552184/us-justice-department-uber-investigation-greyball

by Tony Romm and Johana Bhuiyan May 4, 2017, 8:03pm EDT

The U.S. Justice Department appears to have opened an investigation into Uber following reports that the ride-hailing company used a special tool to evade regulators and law enforcement officials around the country.

In cities like Portland, Oregon, where Uber previously did not have permission to operate, the company in 2014 had relied on software known internally as “Greyball” to identify government officials and prevent them from booking rides. The New York Times first revealed Uber’s practice this March, leading the tech giant days later to say it would not use the system -- originally designed to detect fraud — to avoid scrutiny.

In their report on Uber’s behavior, however, Portland officials indicated last week that they had been notified by the U.S. Attorney in the Northern District of California that “Uber is the subject of a federal inquiry.” A report from Reuters on Thursday said the company specifically had received a subpoena from a grand jury there, meaning that the DOJ’s investigation is likely criminal in nature.

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For its part, Uber confessed to Portland officials in an April 21 letter that it had used “Greyball” to mask its UberX drivers over a two-week period in December 2014, when the company did not have permission to operate UberX in the city. The company suspended its operations there shortly after.

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