"Uber says its background checks are essential for keeping passengers safe, promising that all of its drivers have passed a screening for violent crimes.
The claim, made in marketing materials, ignores a critical detail: The system approves people with many types of criminal convictions, including violent felonies. That is because Uber has limited the criteria used to vet potential drivers, part of a push to speed them onto the ride-hailing network while keeping costs down, a New York Times investigation found.
Uber rejects prospective drivers who have been convicted of murder, sexual assault, kidnapping and terrorism. But in 22 states, The Times found, the company approves people convicted of most other crimes — including child abuse, assault and stalking — so long as the convictions are at least seven years old.
There are also gaps in Uber’s screenings. Background checks in 35 states are based on where a person has lived in the past seven years. The result is that a crime that happened elsewhere could go unnoticed.
Over time, company executives considered and ultimately chose not to expand the types of offenses that would disqualify someone, according to internal documents reviewed by The Times.
They also debated how thoroughly to look back for convictions. “We are def not doing everything we can,” Brooke Anderson, then Uber’s head of safety communications, said in a 2018 email exchange about background checks."
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/business/uber-background-checks-sexual-assault.html?unlocked_article_code=1.AVA.Ytnl.85XPfV13YNUn&smid=url-share
#Uber #GigEconomy #RideHailing
Adrian Morales
CBC London
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Miguel Afonso Caetano