EU: Uber loses court case in fight against French criminal charges

France is entitled to bring criminal proceedings against local managers of ride-hailing app Uber for running an illegal taxi service, the EU top court ruled on Tuesday, April 10, dealing the Silicon Valley start-up another legal setback.

Uber’s loss follows an earlier one last year where the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) classified the company as a transport service rather than a digital one, which stripped it of protections against undue national regulation that digital services enjoy under EU law.

The latest case concerned Uber’s use of unlicensed drivers as part of its UberPOP service in France, which has since been suspended there and in several other cities. Uber still uses its service with professional licensed drivers in France, which is not affected by the ruling.

“Member states may prohibit and punish, as a matter of criminal law, the illegal exercise of transport activities in the context of the UberPOP service, without notifying the Commission in advance of the draft legislation,” the ECJ said in a statement.

Uber had argued that France should have sought the European Commission’s approval for a new taxi law, which contained measures on taxis and mobility apps, including one that said only official taxis could use geolocation technology to show available cars.

Full Content: Fortune

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