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Today I deleted Uber: Here's why you should, too

Help me stop these jerks. Uber exec Emil Michael was apparently so high on his own delusions of grandeur, he told a BuzzFeed editor that he wanted to hire researchers to perform Nixonian dirty tricks on journalists he didn't like. Specifically, he wanted to "prove a particular and very specific claim about [the] personal life" of a journalist the company's executives find annoying. Obviously, he's spent the past day frantically backpedaling that howler, but the cat's out of the bag. 

Read more from PCMag

How to delete your Uber account

It's been a rough week for Uber. First, private comments were made public. Then "God View" was revealed. Finally, Ashton Kutcher, an Uber investor, took to Twitter to throw-in his two and a half cents. The combination of recent events have forced many to proclaim they'll never use the service again. Simply deleting the app from your phone will eliminate it as an option the next time you're in need of a ride, but your account will remain active.

Read more from CNET

Sen. Al Franken demands answers from Uber on privacy, 'God View' tool

A controversy sparked by the recent comments of an Uber executive has triggered an inquiry from Capitol Hill. In a letter sent Wednesday to Uber Chief Executive Travis Kalanick, Sen. Al Franken (D-Min.) called on the company to explain what policies it has in place around tracking the personal data of users on the ride-sharing service. The inquiry came after Buzzfeed reported that an Uber executive suggested the company should invest $1 million in an opposition research team to expose the personal lives of media critics and their families. 

Read more from The Wall Street Journal

Uber tests limits with reputation that it stops at nothing

Uber is in the business of helping people get to places by car, though it does not actually drive anyone around. Shove, kick and elbow - figuratively, at least - yes. Drive, no. It's hard out here for an app. Uber and its app help get consenting adults together, pairing riders and drivers. As a go-between, it will set up a rendezvous and the price for wherever that may lead them in exchange for a taste of the action.

Read more from the Chicago Tribune

Arrogance in Uber's top ranks hurting company: Who's the boober now?

The first time I saw anyone use Uber was in 2012, on the campaign trail.  I was with a bunch of reporters who were peeling off the Paul Ryan bus for a few days of down time. The Ryan team dropped us off after midnight at Washington, D.C.'s Union Station. No one was looking forward to getting a cab at that hour.  Reporters began chattering about Uber. One by one, private cars pulled up, and reporters were whisked into the night. No wait. No hassle. Incredible.

Read more from the Los Angeles Times

SFO taxi protest causes gridlock, headaches

A protest by San Francisco cab drivers against ride services such as Uber and Lyft caused gridlock and a lot of headaches at San Francisco International Airport on Monday night, officials said. The cabbies wouldn't pick up riders and blocked lanes starting about 9 p.m., SFO duty manager John Gintry said, and travelers reported long backups coming into and going out of the airport. Fliers, instructing drivers to circle the terminals, were distributed among many of the cabbies by the San Francisco Taxi Workers Alliance.

Read more from SF Gate

SF taxi drivers promise a repeat of airport protest

The chaotic cabdriver protest that clogged traffic and stranded travelers at San Francisco International Airport on Monday night will likely not be the last battle in the war between traditional taxis and on-demand ride services like Uber and Lyft. A recently organized coalition of San Francisco taxi drivers, pleased with the impact of the protest, vowed Tuesday to bring more disruption to SFO unless the airport director agrees to discuss their concerns that the ride services are being given an unfair advantage in serving the airport.

Read more from SF Gate

Uber's war with the media implodes with exec's comment about investigating journalists

A war is brewing between Uber and the media, one that's been thrust out into the open with comments a senior Uber executive made last Friday night at a private dinner. In those remarks, Emil Michael, the senior VP for business strategy, suggested Uber might hire researchers to dig into the personal lives of critical journalists. BuzzFeed filed a detailed report late yesterday about the dinner, which a BuzzFeed editor attended as the guest of journalist Michael Wolff, who had failed to inform the editor it was an off-the-record discussion. 

Read more from Upstart Business Journal

Orlando International suit wants Uber drivers off airport property

Orlando International Airport is suing Uber, ordering its drivers to stay off its property and seeking $150,000 in damages because the ride-sharing company isn't paying any fees. "There are approximately 600 companies which operate 7,000 vehicles that follow the rules at the airport. Uber is not complying; therefore, the authority has been compelled to file a lawsuit," said Orlando International Director Phil Brown. 

Read more from the Orlando Sentinel

Is Uber too disruptive to fail?

We live in the era of "walking back," politicians walking back a remark, speed-hungry reporters walking back the news. But is "walking back" even possible? Last Friday, Emil Michael, senior vice president of business at Uber, suggested that the company throw a cool million toward hiring a team of researchers and reporters in order, according to Buzzfeed, "to dig up dirt on its critics in the media-and specifically to spread details of the personal life of a female journalist who has criticized the company."

Read more from Bloomberg Politics

Uber, a start-up going so fast it could miss a turn

In just four years of operation, Uber has ignited a new global ride-sharing industry with the promise of transforming urban transportation and helping many people get by without owning cars. But these days, the hot start-up is facing its toughest challenge yet - curbing its ugliest, most aggressive impulses before its win-at-all-cost culture begins to turn off investors, potential employees and the ride-hailing public at large.

Read more from The New York Times

Uber: As drivers get perks, riders losing patience on privacy snafus

Negative news about ride-hailing service Uber continues to mount. Uber said Wednesday that an executive in New York City was under investigation for allegedly tracking a journalist's journey without her consent.  That follows reports that a top Uber exec - seriously or not - laid out plans to dinner-party guests for an Uber team to investigate journalists critical of the company, with a million-dollar budget. Actor and Uber investor Ashton Kutcher defended the dinner-party comments on Wednesday, writing on Twitter: "What is so wrong about digging up dirt on shady journalist?"

Read more from the Los Angeles Times

Uber driver told cancer patient she deserves to be sick after canceling ride

An Uber driver has been fired after harassing a cancer patient who says she was called an animal who deserves to be sick - all for canceling her car reservation. Alexandra Craigle, 25, had just finished radiation treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan last week when on a whim she canceled her Uber pick-up just a minute after reserving it and hopped in a taxi instead. The resulting punishment would be three phone calls, text messages and an irate voice mail from her ditched driver, she said.

Read more from the New York Daily News

The ten worst Uber horror stories

Uber recently threatened to use the personal data of a tech journalist to destroy her because she dared criticize them. Par for the course, says Olivia Nuzzi. Uber pridefully wears its evil reputation the way other on-demand ride-sharing services wear fuzzy pink mustaches. Since its founding (as UberCab) in 2009 in San Francisco, Uber has become more than just a success, it has become a household name with operations across hundreds of cities in dozens of countries and a subsequent valuation of $18.2 billion. 

Read more from The Daily Beast

A leaked internal Uber presentation shows what the company really values in its employees

Uber has two rather divergent reputations as a company. For consumers, it's a fantastic, dead-simple service that delivers cars on-demand.  In the media, it is often portrayed as an arrogant, ruthless company that does whatever it takes to succeed. Those two reputations may be divergent, but they're not mutually exclusive. One may lead to the other. We obtained an internal Uber presentation that sheds some light into how the company operates and what it thinks of itself. 

Read more from Business Insider

Uber and other tech firms know lots about you - should you worry?

Uber has a privacy problem - and so do the vast majority of companies whose businesses collect sensitive data about their customers. Uber knows when and where its users go each time they summon a car. Amid intense criticism over revelations that the company has sometimes used that information to snoop on VIPs and journalists, Uber said Thursday that it has brought in outside experts to audit its privacy policies and vowed to follow their advice.

Read more SF Gate