I hope it isn’t coming as a surprise that Uber is collecting data on your travel habits. However, as I previously warned (See: http://www.lastminutesurvival.com/2016/05/10/uber-update-uber-confirmed-to-be-providing-your-private-travel-data-to-the-government/) Uber has ceased to be the enemy of Big Brother and instead is now its best friend. I noted that as soon as the government realized how much information it could gain by analyzing Uber’s travel data on passengers, the law suits against Uber would disappear. Well, amazingly, the resistance of cities to Uber’s business has been evaporating before our eyes, so was the marriage with Big Brother consummated?
As an analyst, you learn to pay close attention to the timing of events. Rarely are they random and coincidences are clues, not accidents. In the case of Uber, which received stiff resistance from the taxi cab union in New York City, it appears that the marriage was consummated. Reports are now circulating the NYC has been demanding the Uber hand over all of its travel data. What this means is Uber is providing all of your travel data to NYC and that data is then passed to federal agencies and databases. NYC is literally tracking you everywhere you go (See: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-01-05/uber-accuses-nyc-snooping-its-passengers-they-want-full-details-every-trip-you-ever-). Ironically, New York simultaneously sued Uber for maintaining its users’ data (See: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-01-07/uber-reaches-accord-with-new-york-over-tracking-data-on-users).
Let me be clear. The communist state of New York feels it is a violation of your privacy if a private company maintains your travel data, but believes it has the authority to demand all of that same private data is provided to the government. Hypocrisy is an understatement, but when did that ever matter to radical Leftists like Mayor Bloomberg? If you don’t hear Orwell knocking you need to start listening to what is going on. This is the police state Orwell envisioned. You have the power to stop this if you take some simple actions now. Inform Uber that you won’t use their service if they continue to save and pass on your travel information. If they blow you off, delete their app and stop using their service. You can vote with your wallet and this is extremely powerful when used en masse.
By Guiles Hendrik
January 26, 2017
