A monster fine levied on Uber Technologies Inc. by a California regulator probing sexual assault incidents won’t be so big after all.
After months of wrangling over how to best protect the identity of sexual assault victims and whether a large fine was justified, Uber and the
Now, Uber will instead pay a $150,000 fine to CPUC, contribute $5 million to the California Victim Compensation Board and put $4 million toward creating industry-wide safety standards and education, according to a Thursday filing by the CPUC.
Uber will provide the CPUC with anonymized information about assault survivors, and in future reports about assaults on its platform, will provide victims and witnesses with the option to be contacted by the CPUC, according to the agreement.
Although the deal is between Uber and the CPUC, the filing states that future CPUC data requests will apply to all transportation network companies that operate in the state. This means that Uber’s smaller rival
Lyft and the CPUC did not immediately return requests for comment.
“We look forward to continued collaboration with the commission to shine a light on this societal issue and help set the standard for safety and transparency in our industry,” Tony West, Uber’s chief legal officer, said in a statement.
Uber and the CPUC’s arrangement -- which was reached during arbitration with the help of the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network -- must still be approved by an administrative law judge and the CPUC board.
(Updates with details from teh filing in the fifth paragraph.)
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