Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Italy Bans Uber (thenextweb.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the expect-the-unexpected dept.

An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Next Web: A court just banned Uber from using its apps in Italy -- yes, all of Italy. The court ruled in favor of the country's taxi drivers -- who filed the suit -- claiming Uber was "unfair competition." Now Uber can't use it's apps -- including UberBlack, Uber LUX, X, and Select -- and it can't promote or advertise itself at all within the country. For all intents and purposes, Uber is banned in Italy.

6 of 215 comments (clear)

  1. Unwise to play by the rules? by Mandrel · · Score: 5, Interesting

    No means no in the personal space, but most of the big Internet companies were built on breaking the rules: Google and YouTube were built on copyright infringement, Facebook was built on privacy violations, Uber and Airbnb respectively ignore local transport and accommodation laws, PayPal violated credit card company agreements, Amazon aggressively imposes patents and parity-pricing agreements, and Snapchat has thrived from illicit activity by children, not to mention all those boosted to critical mass through illegal spam.

    But once established, it's both feasible and desirable to show a kinder front.

    1. Re:Unwise to play by the rules? by MS · · Score: 4, Informative

      You're so right.

      As a private hoster in Italy with regular license, I hope that Airbnb shuts down soon and all advertisers get a visit by the tax fraud investigators. People renting rooms and apartments through Airbnb have no licence, do not pay real estate taxes, tourist taxes, and neither income taxes, do not contribute to the local tourist board, have no assurance, do not fill out police rercordings ... and are thus unfair competition.

  2. Come on people by thygate · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Now Uber can't use it's apps."

    so sad!

  3. Re:Appeal by Shinobi · · Score: 4, Informative

    In Sweden they do, or get banned from operating. Jail sentences have also been handed out to shady operators. Remember, not every place is as shitty as the US or Russia or China...

  4. That's all well and good by Dunbal · · Score: 4, Insightful

    But... have people actually stopped using Uber in Italy? After all, lots of things are banned in a lot of places. Porn. Prostitution. Drugs. Gambling. And yet...

    --
    Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
  5. Re:Appeal by Pentium100 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Uber wants to be "more equal than others". If there are rules that you have to follow or you can try to get the government to change the rules for everyone. Instead, however, some companies try to break the rules to gain an unfair advantage:

    Emission standards (I personally dislike those rules) are for everyone, except VW - "the competitors will spends lots of money developing better engines like idiots, while we can just cheat the test".

    Taxi rules are for everyone except Uber, even though the service is the same, but "on a computer", like the patent trolls who manage to get a patent for some everyday action but "on a computer".

    They had a great idea and it's spread across the world quickly and rewritten the rules of getting from a to b.

    What is different about Uber compared to a regular taxi?
    1. You arrange the ride (phonecall to a taxi company or by using an Uber app).
    2. The car comes, you get in, get driven to your destination, pay for the service.