Uber Is Being Accused of Something Incredibly Sleazy

When it comes to trailblazing skeevy new business models, no one does it quite like Uber. The company hasn't just modernized management — it's automated it, all while using legal loopholes and psychological tricks to create an entire new class of hyper-exploited workers.

It's also breaking new ground in consumer violations as well, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In a lawsuit filed on Monday, the FTC accused the rideshare corporation of charging "consumers for its Uber One subscription service without their consent," while making it difficult for users to escape their monthly payments. (The FTC also claims that the company failed to live up to the kind of savings Uber One promises its subscribers.)

A main issue is Uber's allegedly deceptive use of pop-ups to snare unwitting subscribers — pop-ups which look confusingly similar to those used to order rides. This makes it difficult to know what, exactly, users are signing up for, especially as Uber quickly whisks them back to their ride without ever asking for billing information to start the subscription.

"Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel," said FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson in a press release. "Today, we’re alleging that Uber not only deceived consumers about their subscriptions, but also made it unreasonably difficult for customers to cancel."

The FTC also did some hard digging into the ease of cancelling a subscription — or lack thereof.

"For any consumer wishing to cancel Uber One, [Uber] requires them to take at least 12 different actions and navigate a maze of at least 7 screens, if they guess the right paths to use, despite there being no mention of cancellation until the fourth screen," the lawsuit reads.

And if a subscriber is within two days of their next monthly charge, cancelling becomes a herculean task, taking as many as "32 actions" and navigating "as many as 23 screens."

"Even after that, they have to contact customer service," the statement continues.

For its part, Uber said that "we are disappointed that the FTC chose to move forward with this action," adding that "cancellations can now be done anytime in-app and take most people 20 seconds or less."

"It is disappointing to see the FTC stray from the rigor and fairness that has long defined the agency at its best," Christine Wilson, Uber's outside counsel clapped back in a feisty statement. Notably, Wilson was the former commissioner for the FTC under Donald Trump's first term.

She joins former FTC chair Tim Muris at Uber's courtroom table, a conflict of interest which the Tech Transparency Project says "would be shocking, if it wasn't so common." A 2019 report by Public Citizen notes that an eye-watering 75 percent of FTC officials go on to represent Silicon Valley giants in "revolving door conflicts."

If successful, the FTC's lawsuit will likely force Uber to redesign this aspect of its software. The rideshare behemoth could also be compelled to pay out damages to affected Uber One subscribers, who currently number at over 30 million.

More on Uber: After Uber's App Cost Him His Job, a Disgruntled Driver Flew to San Francisco and Showed Up at Its Headquarters

The post Uber Is Being Accused of Something Incredibly Sleazy appeared first on Futurism.