Transparency Report: Government Requests for Data

Updated November 7, 2019

In this report, Uber is sharing an overview of information that was provided to federal and state regulators and law enforcement agencies in the US and Canada between January and December 2018.

Uber connects riders and drivers in a highly regulated transportation sector. Regulatory agencies like the California Public Utilities Commission oversee offline services like electricity, construction, and taxis in addition to Uber trips. They are empowered by law to require ridesharing companies to report information about their operations. These agencies may request information about trips, trip requests, pickup and dropoff areas, fares, vehicles, and drivers in their jurisdictions for a given time period. There is a risk that information like pickup and dropoff locations may allow government agencies—or anyone else who obtains this information—to identify individual riders by associating it with publicly available records. That is why we’ve specified the total number of drivers and riders whose trip details have been reported below.

In some cases, reporting requirements for online companies may differ from or exceed what regulators demand from offline companies. And in other cases, online companies are requested to produce different types of information—like an electronic trip receipt with a trip route instead of a paper log. Both occur because regulators assume that technology companies maintain and therefore should provide these records.

The tables below show how many riders and drivers were affected by regulatory reporting requirements for our ridesharing business in the US and Canada during the 2018 calendar year.

Separate from state and local regulatory agencies, airport authorities have the ability to regulate transportation services within and around airports. In order to operate at airports, ridesharing companies and other similar services are required to enter into agreements created and enforced by each airport authority. These agreements vary by airport and require ridesharing companies to report information such as monthly trip volumes; when vehicles enter and exit the airport area; where vehicles pick up and drop off within the airport area; and/or each vehicle’s registration information, license plate, and driver.

The tables below show the number of riders and drivers affected by airport reporting requirements for our ridesharing business in the US.

Uber receives requests from law enforcement agencies in both the United States and abroad who seek information about our users relating to criminal law enforcement investigations. We have a legal obligation to respond to valid government requests for user data. Our dedicated team of experts, who are trained to manage these requests, ensures that any disclosure of information is consistent with our internal policies and applicable law. To learn more about our process and requirements for responding to law enforcement requests in the US, see Uber's Guidelines for Law Enforcement Authorities - United States. For the rest of the world, see Uber's Guidelines for Law Enforcement Authorities - Outside the US.

Uber Technologies Inc. offers many products and services, including ridesharing, Uber Eats, JUMP, and Uber for Business. The tables below represent law enforcement data requests for these 4 products and services.

The US statistics below show how many law enforcement requests we received from state and federal authorities, the type of legal process the authorities received, the number of users affected by these requests, and how often we’ve responded with relevant information. The Canada statistics below show how many requests we received through legal or emergency process, the number of users affected by these requests, and how often we’ve responded with relevant information.