Say hello to Greyball, Uber's secret program to evade police
- Uber uses software to steer away its drivers from potential threats including law enforcement officers.
- It has been deployed in cities that tried to slow the company's expansion.
- Is it illegal? Well, maybe not!
FollowWith each passing day, Uber is finding itself embroiled in controversy after controversy. The dust on the Uber sexual harassment allegation, DeleteUber campaign and exit of Amit Singhal has barely settled, and news about a secret program that thwarts police sting operations has come to light.
Secretive software called 'Greyball' has been deployed for years now. It helps Uber drivers steer away from threats including law enforcement officer. It helps circumvent officers in regions the ride-sharing service is deemed illegal or banned.
The program works by collecting data from the Uber app along with other techniques to stay away from officials. "Uber used these methods to evade the authorities in cities like Boston, Paris and Las Vegas, and in countries like Australia, China and South Korea," writes The New York Times.
Greyball, according to the report, was a part of VTOS or violation of terms of service, and has been deployed from 2014. Uber used the service in Portland, when it had just started without any legal permission. Erich England an office and his colleagues in Portland would pose as riders were tagged under Greyball. So, every time they booked a cab, a ghost fake app would appear and the software managed to get it cancelled.
Robert Weisberg, a Stanford Law professor and the co-director of the Stanford Criminal Justice Center told The Huffington Post, "I’m not sure there’s anything illegal about it.”
