The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating Uber over complaints tied to its subscription service, Uber One. Customers have accused the company of signing them up without consent and making it difficult to cancel, according to a report from Bloomberg. The FTC reportedly launched the investigation earlier this year following multiple customer complaints.
In response, Uber spokesperson Noah Edwardsen defended the company’s policies. “The Uber One cancellation process follows both the letter and the spirit of the law,” Edwardsen told Bloomberg. “Uber One members can easily cancel their membership in the app. In fact, the majority of those cancellations take 20 seconds or less.”
The inquiry comes as the FTC is ramping up efforts to regulate subscription services. The agency recently finalized its “click-to-cancel” rule, which requires companies to make it just as easy to end a subscription as it is to sign up. While the rule has already faced legal challenges, it signals a broader crackdown on practices that complicate cancellations.
This is not the first time Uber has drawn scrutiny from the FTC. The agency previously reached settlements with the company in 2017 over claims that it exaggerated driver earnings and in 2018 over allegations of mishandling a major data breach.
Uber now joins other major companies, including Amazon and Adobe, under FTC investigation for similar issues involving subscriptions. The FTC’s push for stricter rules highlights the growing demand for accountability from corporations, especially as subscription models become the norm in digital services.
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