FTC accuses Uber of misleading subscribers

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By Jody Godoy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Monday sued Uber Technologies, accusing it of signing up some Uber One subscribers without their knowledge and making deceptive claims about the service.

The service costs $9.99 a month and offers discounts on fees associated with Uber’s ride-hailing and food-delivery apps.

Uber falsely claimed that users would save about $25 a month through the service and deceived them about how easy it was to cancel, the FTC said in the lawsuit filed in San Francisco.

“Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel,” FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson said. “The Trump-Vance FTC is fighting back on behalf of the American people.”

Uber spokesperson Noah Edwardsen said the company does not sign up or charge customers without their consent.

“We are disappointed that the FTC chose to move forward with this action, but are confident that the courts will agree with what we already know: Uber One’s sign-up and cancellation processes are clear, simple, and follow the letter and spirit of the law,” he said.

Uber has tangled with the FTC several times in the past.

In 2017 the ride-hailing company settled the FTC’s allegations it had made deceptive privacy and data security claims. The following year it agreed to pay $20 million to settle the FTC’s claims it exaggerated prospective earnings in seeking to recruit drivers.

The company fended off criminal charges in 2022 in a settlement where it admitted that its employees had failed to notify the FTC about a 2016 data breach that affected 57 million passengers and drivers.

(Reporting by Jody Godoy in Washington, Editing by Mark Porter)