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The US Federal Trade Commission has sued ride-hailing app Uber, saying it made “false or misleading” claims about its subscription service, in the latest sign that Donald Trump’s administration is embracing an aggressive stance against Big Tech groups.
The regulator alleged the company’s Uber One service failed to deliver promised savings and proved difficult to “cancel anytime” as promised, according to a complaint filed in a California court on Monday.
“Americans are tired of getting signed up for unwanted subscriptions that seem impossible to cancel,” said FTC chair Andrew Ferguson. “Uber not only deceived consumers about their subscriptions, but also made it unreasonably difficult for customers to cancel.”
The FTC’s action adds to a series of lawsuits brought by successive US administrations against large technology companies. The case signals that the Trump administration will continue to clamp down on these groups despite recent overtures made by tech executives.
Uber denied the FTC’s claims and said its sign-up and cancellation processes were “clear, simple, and follow the letter and spirit of the law”.
Uber and its chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi each donated $1mn to Trump’s inauguration earlier this year.
Apple CEO Tim Cook as well as Amazon, Meta and Google were among a large number of American companies and executives that also made contributions.
All four companies face antitrust legal challenges from the FTC and the Department of Justice, some of which have gone to trial.
Several tech executives attended the president’s inauguration ceremony, and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg have held meetings with the president at the White House in recent months.
Efforts to gain favour with the White House have not led to a softer stance on antitrust actions under Ferguson, who Trump named to lead the FTC and who has accused Big Tech of censorship. He has signalled that he will sustain the crackdown on the industry unleashed by his predecessor Lina Khan.
“The Trump-Vance FTC is fighting back on behalf of the American people,” Ferguson added, referring to US vice-president JD Vance.
Lawyers for the FTC in court filings said Uber falsely claimed users would save roughly $25 a month through the $9.99 service, but did not account for the cost of the subscription in its calculations.
They added that Uber made it difficult to cancel the service, requiring users to take at least a “dozen different actions and navigate a maze of at least seven screens, if they guess the right paths to use”.
Uber said: “Uber does not sign up or charge consumers without their consent, and cancellations can now be done anytime in-app and take most people 20 seconds or less.”
The FTC under former president Joe Biden’s administration brought a lawsuit against Amazon over its Prime subscription service. That case is due to be heard later this year in Seattle.
The FTC sued Uber during Trump’s first term over claims the ride-hailing app mishandled personal data and “exaggerated earnings” for prospective drivers. Uber settled both lawsuits and paid a $20mn settlement to provide refunds to affected drivers.
