Uber's board sued for alleged poor oversight that led to sexual abuse of its passengers

Uber's shareholders have turned on the company's board of directors and executive officers, filing a lawsuit that accuses them of having "knowingly cut compliance corners in the name of growing the company." As first reported by Reuters, the legal action said that the Uber board's lack of compliance has led to sexual assault and harassment of the app's users, as well as violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and consumer protection statutes.

"Uber's leadership has a long history of devoting insufficient resources to customer safety and protection, and setting a tone of non-compliance for the organization," the lawsuit read. "This has inevitably led to harm to customers and massive legal and regulatory exposure to Uber."

The shareholders behind this lawsuit are seeking a jury trial, but also for the company to "reform and improve its corporate governance and internal procedures" to resolve these ongoing issues. An Uber spokesperson told Engadget that "this suit ignores important facts and is based on misleading, false narratives from other meritless lawsuits that we have already addressed publicly and in the courtroom."

Legal troubles surrounding Uber's conduct when it comes to passengers aren't new, though. In 2022, more than 500 women passengers filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that they were "kidnapped, sexually assaulted, sexually battered, raped, falsely imprisoned, stalked, harassed, or otherwise attacked" by Uber drivers.