How to keep Uber from becoming a terrifying monopoly

Here are five ways the government can fight the rampaging company

Taxis struggle to keep up.
(Image credit: robert cicchetti / Alamy Stock Photo)

Uber is having a terrible spell of bad press. First came the #DeleteUber campaign, in which hundreds of thousands of users deleted their accounts after the company undermined a pro-refugee protest among taxi cab drivers at JFK airport in New York City. Then came harrowing allegations, which Uber denies, about a culture of grotesque sexism and sexual harassment from a former female Uber engineer. Then Google sued Uber for alleged patent infringement as part of its driverless car program. Then Uber CEO Travis Kalanick had to apologize after getting caught on video fighting with a driver. Most recently, The New York Times reported the company uses a tool called "Greyball" to prevent local politicians and regulators from collecting data on its service. Outrage against the company has reached a fever pitch.

America's government should take advantage.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.