This isn’t really surprising if you’ve been following Uber’s legal woes. But the Court of Justice of the European Union has confirmed to Uber France that Uber is operating a transportation company. Member countries can prohibit or punish Uber in their own countries without involving the European Union.
Over the past few years, Uber has asked to CJEU to rule in multiple cases related to UberPOP. With UberPOP, anyone could become a driver without any special professional license — it’s the equivalent of UberX in the U.S. Yes, it’s super confusing because UberX in France is the equivalent of UberBLACK in the U.S.
UberPOP was banned in Brussels, the Netherlands and France. According to a French court, Uber operated an illegal transportation company. The company was fined $900,000 (€800,000).
Uber France appealed the judgement and asked Europe’s top court to overrule the decision. The company said that it was an information society service. And EU member countries need to notify the European Commission about law changes when it comes to information society services.
But Uber has now lost in Spain and in France. It is indeed a transportation company, and the CJEU is making that clear in every press statement. Future cases will most likely consider Uber as a transportation company once again.