Uber's Massive Scraping Program Collected Data About Competitors Around The World (gizmodo.com)

Kate Conger, reporting for Gizmodo: For years, Uber systemically scraped data from competing ride-hailing companies all over the world, harvesting information about their technology, drivers, and executives. Uber gathered information from these firms using automated collection systems that ran constantly, amassing millions of records, and sometimes conducted physical surveillance to complement its data collection. Uber's scraping efforts were spearheaded by the company's Marketplace Analytics team, while the Strategic Services Group gathered information for security purposes, Gizmodo learned from three people familiar with the operations of these teams, from court testimony, and from internal Uber documents. Until Uber's data scraping was discontinued this September in the face of mounting litigation and multiple federal investigations, Marketplace Analytics gathered information on Uber's overseas competitors in an attempt to advance Uber's position in those markets. SSG's mission was to protect employees, executives, and drivers from violence, which sometimes involved tracking protesters and other groups that were considered threatening to Uber. An Uber spokesperson declined to comment for this story.

Comments

Cult like behaviour

[mfh]

The Cult of Scientology could learn a thing or two from Uber. They appear very grandiose and their vision is sociopathic to some extent as well as narcissistic. I cannot imagine how a company that would gouge so hard and yet governments do nothing about it for some strange reason.

Re:Cult like behaviour

[ShanghaiBill]

Here is a quick summary of what happened:

1. Uber's competitors placed information on a publicly accessible website.
2. Uber looked at it.

I am feeling a distinct lack of outrage.

Re:Cult like behaviour

[gnick]

Mass data is not the same as one data point.

But public data is public regardless of how much is there.

Journalists too ...

[b0s0z0ku]

Remember when Nogoodnick's ... I mean Kalanick's ... henchmen went after Sarah Lacy and discussed ruining her reputation? It was enough to make her fear for her physical safety.

Stalin, 1984 etc

[Hognoxious]

If the government did this people would be screaming from the rooftops and rioting in the streets.

But when a corporation does it with an app it's just clever business strategy.

Number one! Number one! Freedom and all that!

Re:Stalin, 1984 etc

[HornWumpus]

What are you on about now?

You're aware the government tracks every person you've ever repeatedly called on the phone? They denied it for decades. Snowden proved it. Been going on since WWII.

Yes, you too are subject to this. Not just Americans. In fact not being in America, it's more likely that American spooks are spying on you, while your nation's spooks are spying on people not in your nation. Abracadabra, no problem with rights to privacy, warrants etc.

Re:Stalin, 1984 etc

[ShanghaiBill]

If the government did this people would be screaming from the rooftops and rioting in the streets.

The government does this. So far no riots.

Key line from the article

[Attila Dimedici]

Here is the key line from the article: "It’s possible Uber’s data gathering did not violate any laws..."


Tanslation: We have no evidence that Uber did anything illegal in regards to its data gathering, but we want you to assume that they did while maintaining a defense against libel.

Re:Key line from the article

[Nidi62]

Here is the key line from the article: "It’s possible Uber’s data gathering did not violate any laws..." Tanslation: We have no evidence that Uber did anything illegal in regards to its data gathering, but we want you to assume that they did while maintaining a defense against libel.

It probably went against some websites TOS's though, which given the current state of our judicial system, should make the eligible for the death penalty and a fine large enough to put their grandchildren into crippling debt. Or at least, it would if Uber was a regular person, not a corporation.