The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has filed a lawsuit against Uber Technologies Inc., alleging that the ride-hailing and delivery company engaged in deceptive billing practices and made it excessively difficult for users to cancel its Uber One subscription service.
Uber One is a subscription-based service offering members benefits like $0 delivery fees and discounts on eligible rides and orders.
It costs $9.99 per month or $96 annually.
The FTC accuses Uber of charging customers for its Uber One membership without their consent and implementing a cancellation process that deters users from leaving the service.
According to the commission, users are sometimes forced to navigate up to 23 different screens and perform as many as 32 actions to successfully cancel their subscription.
“Uber has made suspending subscriptions ‘extremely difficult’ for consumers,” the FTC stated in its filing.
The commission also cited reports from customers claiming they were charged despite never authorizing the service or, in some cases, not even having an Uber account.
Uber reacts, denies wrongdoing
In response to the lawsuit, Uber said it was “disappointed” that the FTC opted to pursue legal action instead of resolving the issue through discussions.
A spokesperson for the company, Ryan Thornton, denied the allegations and said the claims about the cancellation process were outdated.
“Cancellations can now be done anytime in-app and take most people 20 seconds or less,” Thornton said.
He also noted that while users previously had to contact support within 48 hours before the next billing period to cancel, “that is no longer the case.”
In a further rebuttal to claims of unauthorized billing, Uber said it “does not sign up or charge consumers without their consent.”
Commenting on the lawsuit, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, a Trump appointee, said:
“The Trump-Vance FTC is fighting back on behalf of the American people.”
The comment signals a shift towards more aggressive oversight of major tech companies under the current administration.
Tech firm under scrutiny
This lawsuit comes as the FTC intensifies its legal battle with other big tech firms.
- A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Google unlawfully monopolized critical sectors of the digital advertising industry
- The ruling was handed down on Thursday by Judge Leonie Brinkema of the U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia, in a landmark antitrust lawsuit filed by the U.S. Department of Justice and a coalition of states.
- Judge Brinkema found that Google violated Section 2 of the Sherman Act by monopolizing two essential components of the digital advertising ecosystem — the publisher ad server market and the ad exchange market.
A federal court in Virginia ruled that Google illegally monopolized key parts of the digital advertising technology ecosystem, while Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared in court to defend acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.
Meta responded by saying the lawsuit is “misguided,” pointing out that the same agency had reviewed and approved the acquisitions at the time.
