London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Monday, Jul 14, 2025

Uber facing new UK driver claims of racial discrimination

Uber facing new UK driver claims of racial discrimination

Drivers say automated ID system needed to work failed to identify them because of their race
Uber is facing further claims for compensation over racial discrimination from drivers who say they had been falsely dismissed because of malfunctioning face recognition technology.

The claims have emerged after Uber introduced an automated system to check the ID of drivers operating its services in April last year. Each time a driver checks in for work, they must take a selfie picture that is then compared, using an automated system, to one on their Uber account profile.

Pa Edrissa Manjang, who worked for the Uber Eats takeaway courier service in London, has launched an employment tribunal claim alleging his account was illegally deactivated. He says the automated facial-verification software wrongly decided his selfie pictures were of someone else on several occasions.

Manjang, whose case is being backed by the App Drivers & Couriers Union, was dismissed on 1 May this year for “continued mismatches” between the pictures he took to register for a shift and the one on his Uber work profile. When he suggested Uber ask a human being to review the photos he was told that after “careful consideration” his account was being deactivated. No further information was provided about the nature of the review of his case.

Manjang claims Uber failed to investigate the potential discriminatory effect of the automated software, to speak to him about the issue or allow a human to review the photos he had checked in with.

Another person bringing a tribunal claim is Imran Javaid Raja, who was dismissed in October 2020 after the same checks led to the revoking of his licence by Transport for London. He was reappointed the following month, with Uber accepting they had made a mistake. However, Raja could not work until the following January when his TfL licence was reinstated and he says he was never offered any compensation for his period out of work.

“Uber should not be allowed to use facial recognition software in the UK against a vulnerable workforce already at risk of exploitation and human rights violations,” the union says.

It wrote to Microsoft about the use of its technology at Uber and the company said that those deploying its facial recognition software should incorporate “meaningful human review to detect and resolve cases of misidentification or other failure”.

In 2019 Microsoft, which makes the software, conceded that facial recognition software did not work as well for people of colour and could fail to recognise them.

The latest claims against the use of the software have emerged after the Independent Workers of Great Britain trade union said the technology had mistakenly led to at least 36 drivers having their registration with Uber terminated since the start of the pandemic. It is calling for Uber to scrap the “racist algorithm” and reinstate terminated drivers.

The issue is particularly pertinent in London, where nine in 10 private hire drivers are black or black British, Asian or Asian British or mixed race, according to a survey by TfL.

The IWGB is backing a tribunal claim by another unnamed Uber driver who lost his job when automated face-scanning software failed to recognise him.

IWGB members working for Uber staged a 24-hour strike on Wednesday and protested outside the company’s head office in London over the facial recognition issue, as well as pay.

Uber has previously said there are two manual human reviews prior to any decision to remove a driver and the system is “fair and important for the safety of our platform”. It has also said anyone removed from the platform could appeal against the decision. Uber has been contacted for comment.

Studies of several facial recognition software packages have shown higher error rates when recognising people with darker skin than among lighter-skinned people, although Microsoft and others have been improving performance.

Microsoft declined to comment on an ongoing legal case.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
×