Setbacks are piling up for Uber

Problems are mounting for Uber, the popular ride-booking service. On Monday, the French government announced that the company's lower-priced UberPop service would be banned on Jan. 1, the latest in a number of setbacks for Uber, which is facing bans in several cities worldwide. France's announcement has again put the spotlight on Uber, a U.S. company that has been attracting criticism across the globe that it does not comply with local licensing laws. It also follows steps by policymakers in Amsterdam, New Delhi and elsewhere to ban its services. Uber says it will challenge any legal ruling — including the potential ban across France — that would block it. France's move came only days after Uber dodged a potential ban of UberPop in Paris. Parisian taxi associations had filed a lawsuit against Uber, saying that the company should not be permitted to operate in the city where the one-time fee for a taxi license costs up to $300,000. A local judge on Friday decided not to ban UberPop, prompting cabdrivers in the capital to stage a go-slow strike Monday in protest of the company, which is valued at $40 billion, or almost the same as General Motors.

Dutch agency threatens Google with fines

Google's never-ending battle with European laws and regulations continues this week. In the Netherlands, Dutch authorities are threatening to fine the search engine giant for allegedly violating privacy laws. The national privacy watchdog, the Dutch Data Protection Authority, announced that Google faces hefty fines if it doesn't meet privacy requirements set forth by the authority. Google could be fined as much as $18.7 million if it fails to meet a February 2015 deadline to comply with demands that include asking users for their "unambiguous consent" before obtaining their information, providing clarity about what kind of user data is being used, and "clear information about the fact that YouTube is part of Google." DPA President Jacob Kohnstamm said that Google violates the Google Custom Privacy conditions of the Data Protection Act by using information like data searched, location data, viewed videos and e-mails.

Banker dodged fares totaling $66,000

On Monday, London's Financial Conduct Authority announced that Jonathan Paul Burrows would be banned from working in the financial services industry. The FCA, a watchdog for London's financial industry, said Burrows had "demonstrated a lack of honesty and integrity." The decision is likely to end his 20-year-long career in the city, where he most recently worked as a director at the investment management firm BlackRock. Burrows's crime wasn't directly related to his work, however. Instead, he had been caught dodging train fares — to the tune of $66,000, according to British news reports. London is a city built around public transportation, from the famous "Tube" to the myriad train, bus, overground and tram lines. But it's a complicated system, hard even for Londoners to negotiate sometimes. And it's expensive. If Burrows had bought the correct ticket every workday in 2014, it would have cost him 5,439 pounds ($8,500). Season tickets are not much cheaper. Few Londoners like those prices, and it is likely that a fair number of them attempt to get around it. But when reports of Burrows' crime began to spread earlier this year, many were incensed that a banker was the "biggest fare dodger in history."

IPod antitrust suit goes to jury

After 10 years, a class-action antitrust lawsuit involving iPods is finally in the hands of a jury. In a federal trial more noteworthy for legal wrangling than evidence presented in a courtroom, Apple is accused of blocking the music of competitive services from playing on Apple's iPods. But in the course of a trial that lasted a week and a half, both plaintiffs named in the lawsuit dropped out after lawyers discovered they did not buy iPods in the period in which Apple is accused of wrongdoing. A new plaintiff was appointed Monday, and lawyers on both sides wrapped up their arguments with closing statements.

News Services