Uber shareholders sue board for alleged poor oversight leading to passenger sexual abuse

Uber shareholders have filed a lawsuit against the company's board of directors and executive officers, alleging they "knowingly cut compliance corners in the name of growing the company." As first reported by Reuters, the legal action claims that the board's lack of oversight led to sexual assault and harassment of app users, as well as violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and consumer protection statutes. "Uber's leadership has a long history of devoting insufficient resources to customer safety and protection, and setting a tone of non-compliance for the organization," the lawsuit states. "This has inevitably led to harm to customers and massive legal and regulatory exposure to Uber." The shareholders are seeking a jury trial and also asking the company to "reform and improve its corporate governance and internal procedures" to address these ongoing issues. An Uber spokesperson told Engadget that "this suit ignores important facts and is based on misleading, false narratives from other meritless lawsuits that we have already addressed publicly and in the courtroom." Legal troubles surrounding Uber's conduct regarding passengers are not new. In 2022, more than 500 women passengers filed a lawsuit alleging they were "kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed, or otherwise attacked" by Uber drivers.