UPDATED 22:17 EDT / DECEMBER 12 2016

APPS

Uber is spying on celebrities, politicians, ex-girlfriends, says fired security employee

A former forensic investigator for Uber Technologies Inc. says that user information at Uber has been used by employees to track celebrities, monitor the movement of high-profile politicians and even keep track of employees’ lovers and spouses.

The former investigator, 45-year-old Ward Spangenberg, says he suffered age discrimination at Uber but was also pushed out of the company where he worked in security because he blew the whistle on employees abusing security weak spots. Spangenberg lasted 11 months at Uber.

In a lawsuit filed against Uber, Spangenberg states that the company had “no regard for data protection,” citing staff paychecks being open to prying eyes as well as the people tracking.

Spangenberg goes on to reveal that when government agencies would regularly raid Uber offices relating to non-compliance of government regulations, Uber would “lock down the office and immediately cut all connectivity so that law enforcement could not access Uber’s information.”

In one such case, Spangenberg said, after investigators from the Canadian revenue ministry attempted to raid two Montreal Uber offices relating to tax evasion, he was told to encrypt laptops at the office remotely, rendering an investigation impossible. In this case, a Canadian judge said that Uber was obstructing justice.

This is not the first time Uber has been accused of violating user privacy. In 2014 Uber was in trouble for exploiting its “God-View,” a feature that allows certain Uber employees to track all Uber rides. According to reports, about 10 employees have so far been fired for improper use of such a tool.

In response to the allegations, Uber told Business Insider in a statement, “It’s no secret that Uber has trip coordinates and other personally identifiable information about riders and drivers, and it’s our obligation to protect that. We cooperate with authorities when they come to us with subpoenas.”

Photo credit: Richard Schatzberger via Flickr

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