“We were deeply disturbed to read that your drivers are installing digital tablets in the back seats of their cars to deliver targeted advertisements....This sort of surveillance and targeted advertising program raises serious concerns about privacy for your passengers”
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) sent a letter to Uber and Lyft expressing concern about a new advertising program that may compromise passengers’ privacy in ride-share vehicles.
According to recent news reports, ride-share drivers are installing digital tablets in their cars to deliver targeted advertisements to passengers. The digital tablets use artificial intelligence to assess a passenger’s age, gender, race, location, and assumed interests based on their appearance.
“When passengers use ride-sharing services, they want to be safe and secure...This sort of surveillance and targeted advertising program raises serious concerns about privacy for your passengers,” the senators wrote.
The senators requested answers to a series of questions on the advertising program by July 12, 2021.
Full text of the letter can be found HERE and below.
Dear Mr. Khosrowshahi and Mr. Green:
When passengers use ride-sharing services, they want to be safe and secure. They also have a reasonable expectation of privacy. We were therefore deeply disturbed to read that your drivers are installing digital tablets in the back seats of their cars to deliver targeted advertisements. These tablets are equipped with cameras that film passengers when they take an Uber or Lyft ride. The tablets then use artificial intelligence to assess their age, gender, race, location, and assumed interests based on their appearance, all of which they can use to show targeted advertisements to the Uber and Lyft passengers. According to news reports, the tablets then even provide information to advertisers about the passengers’ reactions to the ads, which seems even more intrusive.
This sort of surveillance and targeted advertising program raises serious concerns about privacy for your passengers. We therefore ask that you provide written answers to the following questions by July 12, 2021:
- Does Uber or Lyft have a business relationship with the company providing the digital tablets and/or the advertisements?
- Have either of your companies reviewed this program? If so, did you determine whether the cameras raised privacy concerns? And did you determine that the artificial intelligence system’s assessments of riders’ age, gender, race, and personal appearance is done in a manner that is consistent with your corporate values and all applicable laws?
- Does the advertising program link to your ride-sharing apps in any way or use any form of facial recognition technology?
- How do your privacy policies apply to these tablets and advertisements?
- What data about Uber and Lyft passengers is collected by these devices, how is it stored, how is it used, and how long is it retained?
- How many Uber and Lyft drivers have installed these tablets?
- How many ads have been shown via these tablets, and how much compensation have drivers received?
- What was the average monthly compensation for drivers in May 2021?
We look forward to your prompt responses.
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