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[Guevara]

A run of bad news for Uber continued on Tuesday, when Spain and Thailand ordered the ride-sharing service to cease operations in the two countries.

In Madrid, a commercial court judge sided with a taxi association complaint, saying that Uber must cease driving in Spain until a lawsuit contesting its right to operate can be heard. In Bangkok, the Thai transport authorities ordered Uber to shut down after finding that its drivers lacked the registration and insurance needed to operate commercial vehicles, Reuters reported.

Just one day earlier, officials in New Delhi, the Indian capital, ordered Uber to cease its operations there after one of its drivers was accused of raping a passenger.

Also on Monday, a Dutch appeals court upheld that Uber drivers who transport passengers without a taxi license are violating Dutch law. The court said the company would be subject to immediate fines if it continued to operate its UberPop service, which enables any licensed driver with a car and Uber-issued device to pick up passengers.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/t...n-region&region=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=0

There are similar motions in France and Germany, and Portland, OR.

But it's not just overseas problems, in Uber's home state of California:

Uber could face harsh penalties for refusing to cooperate with state regulators over a data request.

A California Public Utilities Commission judge is threatening to revoke Uber's license to operate in the state following the ride-service company's monthlong refusal to give the regulator information on its drivers and riders.

"They're not providing us with the data we've asked for," said Marzia Zafar, director of CPUC's policy and planning division. A CPUC hearing on the matter could come this week and would determine the next steps, she said.

The case arose in September 2013 when the CPUC began regulating companies such as Uber, Lyft and Sidecar, officially dubbing them transportation network companies.

But the legalization came with a price: The entities were required to submit data on how many drivers they have, where they drive and who they pick up, among other measures.

Lyft and Sidecar eventually complied with the reporting directives, Zafar said, but Uber remains defiant.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/sanfranci...driver-rider-data-request/Content?oid=2914445

Many were already calling for users to uninstall Uber over ethics concerns and a lack of transparency.

 

[EatinOlives]

I mean I'm all for a newcomer shaking things up in the Taxi business, but Uber is going about it all wrong. Purposefully trying to skirt regulations and stonewalling attempts at transparency just isn't going to sit well with certain cities/countries.

 

[RiccochetJ]

I can understand wanting information about the drivers, but why does California want to know about the passengers?

Edit: Ahh, I see. They want to know if the Uber drivers are discriminating against groups of people by taking a look at who exactly they're picking up.