Uber’s secret weapon to stop investigators

CHIEF REPORTER UBER deployed a secret computer program codenamed “Greyball” to thwart undercover regulators attempting to shut down the taxi-hailing service in cities around the world.

The software was specially designed to enable Uber to identify investigators who were posing as passengers while collecting evidence that could prove the firm was breaking local taxi laws.

Regulators who were spotted by Greyball were prevented from summoning a car. Instead Uber would “serve up” a fake version of its own service that meant regulators would have rides cancelled whenever they tried to book one.

Uber, which is based in San Francisco, used information from its own database to pinpoint regulators.

The existence of Greyball was disclosed by the

and based on information provided by four current and former Uber staff who were not named.

According to the newspaper, Greyball is part of a broader software program called VTOS, shorthand for “violations of terms of service”, that Uber said it developed to protect its service.

Uber acknowledged it has used Greyball to counter regulators working with the company’s opponents to entrap its drivers.

“This program denies ride requests to fraudulent users who are violating our terms of service – whether that’s people aiming to physically harm drivers, competitors looking to disrupt our operations, or opponents who collude with officials on secret ‘stings’ meant to entrap drivers,” Uber said.

The company has shaken up taxi markets, which are often heavily regulated, and in so doing has provoked a “cat and mouse game” with regulators.

The unmasking of Greyball caps a terrible week for Uber. The business, founded eight years ago, is now worth £56 billion and operates in 543 cities worldwide.

But in the past two weeks, a former female engineer alleged that Uber had routinely ignored claims of sexual harassment, while a video then surfaced of Travis Kalanick, its chief executive and founder, swearing at a driver who confronted him about steep cuts in rates for its premium service.

Mr Kalanick was seen shouting at the driver: “Some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own s---. They blame everything in their life on somebody else. Good luck!”

On Friday, Uber lost its attempt at the High Court in London to overturn a law requiring all minicab drivers – including Uber drivers – to pass a written English test before they can work.