Corporate Accountability and Crime

Uber is preparing to overhaul its U.S. driver background‑check policies after a New York Times investigation found the company had approved drivers in at least 22 states who had prior convictions for serious offenses including child abuse, stalking and assault, so long as those crimes were more than seven years old. The Times also found that from 2017 to 2022 Uber received a report of sexual assault or sexual misconduct about once every eight minutes, and that some drivers were allowed to keep working after rider complaints until more serious allegations surfaced. In response, Uber now plans to permanently ban people convicted of violent felonies, child or elder abuse and endangerment, and sexual offenses from driving on the platform regardless of when the crimes occurred, and to tighten its seven‑year cutoff for lesser offenses such as harassment or some weapons charges. The company has not provided a firm implementation timeline but said in a statement that 'safety isn’t static' and that its standards will keep evolving. The story lands amid growing online criticism that big gig‑economy platforms offload risk onto riders while relying on opaque screening systems, and it will pressure competitors like Lyft to spell out their own rules for drivers with criminal histories.