US startup carpool Uber goes from one scandal to the next. After speculation about a default for years sexual assault in company sued for intellectual property theft and video recording in which the founder Travis Kalanik lashing out verbally over the driver of the company on Friday about a new problem. According to a report The New York Times Company uses a special software program enabling it to avoid requests from officials, police officers and other officials in cities where its operation is prohibited or is under investigation.
The company itself has confirmed that the system Greyball accumulation and analysis of data for customers. According to her, however, the software helps to deal with unscrupulous customers who infringe its rules for granting and using services. The program collects information from both the application itself Uber, and from other sources - analyzes addresses by checking areas with office buildings. Furthermore, analyzing the way in which the application is used by customers located in the area. If you often open the app, it enters group possibly linked to the authorities. Check and whether the credit card was issued a civil servant.As a result, if a potential customer is identified as connected with the authorities, the app tells him that there is currently no free cars or transfer it to a fake screen.
The media refers to four current and former company officials, speaking on condition of anonymity. According to the official position of Uber, the system detects people who endanger the physical drivers.
According to information Greyballing used in American cities Las Vegas, Paris and Boston, but also in Australia, China, Italy and South Korea. According to the article strategy is part of a larger program called "VTOS" (Violations of Terms of Service). "VTOS" was originally developed to protect drivers as attacks on taxi drivers who consider their business to be threatened by Uber.
