After a week of PR dust-ups, Uber announced Thursday that it has hired a data privacy expert to review the company’s policies.
In a blog post, Uber said it had hired Harriet Pearson, a former chief privacy officer at IBM, to work with the company’s privacy team. Pearson, along with her colleagues at law firm Hogan Lovells, will “conduct an in-depth review and assessment of our existing data privacy program and recommend any needed enhancements so that Uber can ensure that we are a leader in the area of privacy and data protection,” the announcement read.
The audit comes in the wake of reports that Uber’s general manager in New York tracked a journalist’s rides without her permission, while a senior executive suggested at a private dinner that the company should hire opposition researchers to smear journalists who wrote critically of Uber.
Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) also called out the company Wednesday for condoning “use of customers’ data for questionable purposes.” The senator sent Uber CEO Travis Kalanick a list of questions clarifying the company’s privacy policy and requested a response by Dec. 15.
“Our business depends on the trust of the millions of riders and drivers who use Uber,” the company said Thursday. “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.”
