Uber Drivers Challenge Opaque Algorithms and Working Conditions in Geneva and Amsterdam
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This content was published on October 6, 2026 – 09:00 Uber drivers across Europe are fighting back against opaque algorithms that control fares, ride allocations, and driver terminations. SWI swissinfo.ch reported on October 6, 2026, that this continent-wide resistance has deep roots in Geneva and Amsterdam, where activists and former drivers are using European data protection laws to dismantle automated platform control.
Not long after starting with the company, Brahim Ben Ali, a former driver in his forties hailing from the Lille suburbs, began sensing that something was wrong with the platform. I saw people making more money than me, even though I was out on the road for eight or ten hours.
I couldn’t understand why,
he says. Former driver Brahim Ben Ali spent 60 to 70 hours a week behind the wheel in France from 2015 to 2019, earning less than €6 (CHF5.65) an hour, which is well below France’s minimum wage. According to Ben Ali, the application pushed drivers toward specific zones lured by higher pricing and increased demand, which subsequently vanished by the time they reached the location. He alleges that motorists who turned down an excessive number of trip requests faced reduced dispatch opportunities or complete severance from the network. They played with us as if we were Pokémon,
Ben Ali says.
Reconstructing the Uber System Through European Data Protection Rules
The legal strategy underpinning these challenges relies heavily on the General Data Protection Regulation. Implemented in 2018 across the European Union, the GDPR grants workers the right to obtain data documenting their working conditions. Mathematician Paul-Olivier Dehaye, founder of the Geneva-based association PersonalData.IO, used this regulatory framework to help drivers extract operational data from Uber after months of denied requests.
Dehaye traveled directly to Uber’s European headquarters in Amsterdam to force compliance. Once the data was secured, Dehaye and the drivers began piecing together elements of the Uber system.
Uber Denies Claims of Algorithmic Fare Manipulation
A central point of contention involves the exact percentage of each fare retained by Uber.
Uber categorically rejects these claims. The company maintains that its global share of fares remained stable at 21% in the third quarter of 2025. Uber states that fares are calculated solely on real-time journey metrics including duration, pick-up point, and destination.
Milestones in European Legal Actions
Worker Info Exchange, led by British former driver James Farrar, launched a major collective action in the Netherlands representing roughly 240,000 European drivers. The organization estimates that changes to Uber’s pay system have reduced driver annual income by about £5,000 (CHF5,850).
The Ongoing Battle for Worker Control Over Digital Data
Ben Ali, alongside Dehaye and a group of approximately 19,000 drivers, is pursuing a separate collective action with estimated claims reaching roughly €40,000 per driver.
Edited by Gabe Bullard/vdv/dos Articles in this story
