Uber is clearly cleaning up the giant privacy mess it has made last week.
Facing pressure from public criticism and a scathing letter from Senator Al Franken, chairman of the subcommittee on privacy, technology and the law, Uber has announced that it is hiring IBM's former chief privacy officer Harriet Pearson and her team at Hogan Lovells law firm where she is a partner to audit how the firm handles sensitive customer information and make recommendations for needed improvements.
"Our business depends on the trust of the millions of riders and drivers who use Uber," says Uber spokesperson Natalia Monsalvo. "The trip history of our riders is important information and we understand that we must treat it carefully and with respect, protecting it from unauthorized access."
Prior to joining Hogan Lovells, Pearson worked for 19 years at IBM, advising Big Blue on how to approach privacy and respond to unanticipated security and privacy breaches. Dubbed the First Lady of Privacy, Pearson is one of the longest-standing privacy officers for Fortune 500 companies. She is also co-chairperson of the Cybersecurity Law Institute of Georgetown University.
The move comes amidst the public outrage that resulted from statements made by Uber senior vice president of business Emil Michael at a dinner last week where he suggested hiring what he calls opposition researchers to turn the tables on journalists and dig up dirt about their private lives. He was said to be targeting DailyPando founder Sarah Lacy, who has been vocal about her criticism of Uber. Michael has since apologized for his comments, saying that they "do not reflect my actual views and have no relation to the company's views or approach," but the cat has slipped out of the bag.
Following Michael's gaffe, a BuzzFeed report surfaced claiming another Uber executive, this time Uber New York general manager Josh Mohrer, breaching user privacy and using a tool called God View to track the location of BuzzFeed reporter Johana Bhuiyan with her consent. Uber has been known to for its neglible approach to using God View, even using it at parties and launch events to show audiences where users currently are. In its privacy policy, Uber says the use of this tool that allows it sweeping access to all customers and driver data is reserved for a "limited set of legitimate business uses."
"Where in your privacy policy do you address the 'limited set of legitimate business uses' that may justify employees' access to riders' and drivers' data, including sensitive geolocation data?" writes [pdf] Sen. Franken to Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
In response, Kalanick opted to hire the First Lady of Privacy.
