Latest Sharing Economy Headlines

All the headlines from our Sharing Economy Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Billionaire Chief of SoftBank Bets on Autonomously Driven World: Opinion

Feb 13 2018 // It has almost become a refrain: just what is Masayoshi Son up to? After plowing money into companies as diverse as Uber Technologies Inc., office rental specialist WeWork Cos Inc. and fintech lender SoFi, the billionaire...

Uber Agrees to Give Stock to Waymo to Settle Trade Secret Theft Dispute

Feb 9 2018 // Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to give about $245 million in stock to settle the high-stakes trade-secret theft lawsuit brought by Waymo, resolving a conflict that already cost the ride-hailing giant its top driverless car...

Trial Over Waymo Claim of Uber Trade Secrets Theft Gets Underway

Feb 6 2018 // Uber was either a cheating competitor willing to break the law to win the race to develop self-driving cars, or the victim of an unproven conspiracy theory stitched together by its main rival, Waymo, jurors heard in...

Waymo-Uber Trial in California Highlights Tech Talent War

Feb 5 2018 // Should full frontal lobotomies be required of Silicon Valley engineers looking to change jobs? Uber Technologies Inc. has said with a touch of hyperbole that that’s what the future holds if Waymo wins its lawsuit...

Japan’s Peer-to-Peer Vouch Insurtech Raises Seed Funding

Feb 5 2018 // Taiwan venture capital firm Nogle Capital Management, Singapore venture capital firm GREE Ventures and several angel investors have participated in the seed funding round of SGD$1 million for Singapore startup Vouch...

If They Try It, They’ll Like It: How Ridesharing, Autonomous Cars Will Win Over the Public

Jan 23 2018 // Five years ago, when she was still an insurance broker with Marsh, Kate Sampson called insurance underwriters at American International Group (AIG) and other insurers with a new concept. “I’m working with this...

Uber Finally Gets $1-per-Driver Pay Settlement in California

Jan 18 2018 // Though at first Uber Technologies Inc. didn’t succeed in settling a lawsuit by California drivers alleging labor-code violations, it tried and tried again. A Los Angeles state judge finally said on Tuesday...

Uber Settles New York Drivers’ Class Action Over Fees for $3 Million

Jan 10 2018 // Uber Technologies Inc. agreed to pay up to $3 million to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of 2,421 drivers in New York who accused the ride-sharing company of docking excessive fees from their...

Drivers Aren’t Going Away Anytime Soon, Say Driverless Car Leaders

Jan 9 2018 // Carmakers and tech companies have fallen over one another in recent weeks to show the strides they’ve made with self-driving cars. At CES — usually a stage for bragging about futuristic bona fides — top...

Sugary Sports Beans, Uber Divorce Claims Among Chamber’s ‘Most Ridiculous’ Lawsuits of 2017

Dec 28 2017 // A lawsuit by a woman claiming she was deceived about the amount of sugar in an exercise supplement called Sport Beans tops the list of what a top U.S. business lobby sees as the “most ridiculous” lawsuits of...

China’s Ride-Hailing Firm Didi Raises $4B to Expand Overseas, Challenging Uber

Dec 22 2017 // Chinese ride-hailing firm Didi Chuxing Technology Co. on Thursday said it has raised $4 billion in funds earmarked for expansion overseas and into areas such as artificial intelligence (AI), as it looks to challenge Uber...

EU Ruling Upholding Taxi Rules for Uber a Contrast to U.S. Approach

Dec 22 2017 // A European Union decision to treat Uber Technologies Inc. like a taxi company spotlights a trans-Atlantic divide over how governments cope with disruptive technologies and could embolden U.S. cities to restrict the...

EU Court Rules Uber Should Be Regulated as Transport Firm, Not an App

Dec 20 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. suffered a defeat when the European Union’s top court ruled its ride-hailing service should be regulated as a transport company, a decision that could set a precedent for the burgeoning gig...

Is Uber an App or Transport Firm? EU’s Top Court to Rule This Week

Dec 18 2017 // A debate in Europe over whether ride-hailing app Uber is merely a digital company or one providing transport services will be decided when the top European Union court hands down its verdict on Wednesday in a highly...

Uber’s Food-Delivery Business to Provide Insurance for Couriers in Europe

Dec 15 2017 // Uber’s food-delivery business will begin offering an insurance package to its couriers in Europe, a move to address the conditions of “gig economy” workers. Riders for food-delivery companies such as Uber...

Investor Sues Uber Directors Over $680M Acquisition of Autonomous Car Firm

Dec 14 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. directors were accused of failing to properly review the ride-sharing company’s $680 million acquisition of a self-driving technology firm that wound up being accused of stealing trade secrets...

Uber to Settle U.S. Lawsuit by Indian Woman Raped by Driver

Dec 11 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. and a woman who accused top executives of improperly obtaining her medical records after a company driver raped her in India have agreed to settle a civil lawsuit the woman filed against Uber in...

‘Rideshare Guy’ Says 60-80% of Drivers Still Don’t Have Correct Insurance

Dec 8 2017 // Powered by InsuranceJournal.tv He calls himself “The Rideshare Guy” and he’s become one of the more prolific voices covering the still-burgeoning business. When Uber and Lyft were at the point in...

Florida AG Investigating Uber Over Data Breach Affecting 32K Drivers

Dec 7 2017 // Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi says that the state is now investigating ride-sharing service Uber over an alleged cover up of a national data breach. Bondi said Dec. 1 that her office has issued a subpoena to Uber. The...

Uber’s UK Data Breach Exposed Accounts of 2.7M Customers in 2016

Nov 30 2017 // Uber Technologies Inc. said information from 2.7 million U.K. customers was taken in a 2016 security breach that hit 57 million riders and drivers globally and that the company kept secret from the public and authorities...