240,000 Uber drivers sue over algorithmic pay across Europe

Around 240,000 Uber ↘ 0.26% drivers across seven European countries have launched a collective legal action against the ride-hailing company, alleging its AI-powered pricing system violates EU data protection law and has systematically suppressed their earnings.

The lawsuit, filed at the Amsterdam District Court on September 2 by Worker Info Exchange International (WIE), covers drivers in the UK, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Poland and Romania. WIE is asking the court to declare Uber's practices unlawful, order the company to stop them, and award compensation to affected drivers.dmnews+2

What the Drivers Allege

At the heart of the case is Uber's shift from a fixed pricing model — in which fares were calculated using time and distance rates with a standard 25% commission — to a dynamic "Upfront Pricing" system introduced from 2020 onward. Under the newer model, the amount passengers pay is no longer directly tied to what drivers receive.itv

The drivers allege Uber's algorithm profiles them individually, learning from their behavior — which jobs they accept or reject, when and where they work — to predict the minimum they would accept for a given journey. "A computer algorithm should not independently make decisions that strip individuals of their livelihood," said James Farrar, director of Worker Info Exchange.cryptobriefing+1

Driver Kola Oba, who has driven for Uber for nine years, told ITV News that he and a fellow driver were offered different fares for the same trip from the same location — £22 for him and £26 for his colleague. "I believe this is where the algorithm comes in," he said.itv

WIE estimates that affected UK drivers earned an average of £5,337 less per year in real terms after the pricing changes, with cumulative losses of £26,239 per driver between August 2021 and June 2026.dmnews+1

Uber's Response and Broader Context

Uber has categorically rejected the allegations. "The Uber app uses real-time information about the trip such as journey, duration and destination to calculate fares," the company said in a statement. "Drivers see their earnings and where a trip is going before they decide whether to accept it".itv

The lawsuit arrives just weeks after the Dutch Data Protection Authority fined Uber €825 million for deactivating driver accounts through automated systems without adequate human oversight — the second-largest penalty ever issued under the GDPR. That fine was the third levied on Uber by the Dutch regulator, following a €290 million penalty in 2024 over the transfer of drivers' personal data to the United States.reuters+2

Implications for the Gig Economy

A June 2025 study by the University of Oxford, conducted with WIE, found that Uber's average take rate rose from about 25% to 29% after dynamic pricing was introduced, with some trips seeing the company retain more than 50% of the fare. Over the same period, Uber's annual operating profit surged from $1.1 billion in 2023 to $5.6 billion in 2025.itv+1

WIE expects the Amsterdam case to be heard in early 2027. The EU's AI Act, which began phased implementation in 2024, classifies employment-related AI systems as "high-risk," adding regulatory weight to the drivers' claims. The outcome could set a precedent for how gig economy platforms across Europe are permitted to use automated systems to manage and pay workers.cryptobriefing+1