Ottawa Committee studying rideshare ethics, practices

December 3 hearings a surprise to most observers

The House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (ETHI) is conducting a study of privacy practices of delivery and rideshare applications.

Witnesses will appear on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, from 3:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EST in the format of a five minutes opening statement, followed by a Question-and-Answer session with the members of the committee. A video link may be made available at this time.

On October 29, 2024, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics (the Committee) adopted the following motion:

“Given that there are concerns with transparency around the pricing of delivery services such as Uber, Lyft, Skip the dishes, Doordash’s and other companies providing similar services, including concerns about surcharges and service fees charged to customers, the safety and privacy of Canadians’ personal data collected by them, and there are questions about whether delivery personnel who are gig workers have equitable changes,

That, pursuant to Standing Order 108 (3)(h) , the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics undertake a study on the impacts of Uber’s operations in Canada, including:

a. Transparency around these companies pricing structure, including surcharges and fees;

b. Privacy and security of Canadians’ personal data collected by delivery services;

c. Transparency around support for gig workers and their retention of any of the profits made;

And that the committee reports its findings and recommendations to the House.”