Uber is going through some tough times right about now. Indeed, it seems that we can’t even go a full week without hearing about a new lawsuit or scandal involving the famed ride-sharing company. Over the last five weeks alone, we’ve seen video of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick aggressively arguing with an Uber driver about driver-pay, reports of Uber executives visiting brothels in South Korea, and last but not least, a sensational lawsuit alleging that Uber misappropriated self-driving car technology from Google’s Waymo division.
Uber certainly has a lot on its plate right now, and it was just dealt another blow from a judge in Rome. According to a report from Reuters, a judge has banned Uber from operating and even advertising its services in Italy. Responding to a suit initially brought forward by a consortium of taxi associations in the country, the judge handling the case said that the current implementation of Uber services “constituted unfair competition.”
The court said Uber could not use its Black, Lux, Suv, X , XL, Select and Van phone applications nor could it promote or advertise its services in Italy, a court document showed.
According to a report from the Italian-language Corriere Della Sera, Uber has 10 days to respond to the ruling whereupon it may be granted a two-month stay against the ban. If a secondary judge confirms the initial ruling, Uber will effectively be banned from the country. If Uber attempts to defy the ban, the company will be slapped with a $10,600 fine for each day it remains operational.
Uber’s Italian division said it was “shocked” by the sweeping ban and that it plans to file an appeal. It also added that the adverse ruling was “based on a 25-year old law” and that the Italian government “needs to decide whether it wants to remain anchored to the past, protecting privileged profits, or whether it wants to allow Italians to benefit from new technologies.”
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