A day after The Verge published a damning report about ridesharing service Uber's ruthless tactics against rival Lyft in several cities, a new interview with a former Federal Trade Commission official claims that the company could face a federal investigation.
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Yesterday, The Verge reported on the service's alleged antics with a series of leaked internal memos and interviews with former employees. The evidence suggested that Uber was paying people to hire Lyft rides and then attempt to recruit the drivers in New York City and Washington, D.C. This comes on top of reports that Uber secretly ordered thousands of Lyft rides and then cancelled, tying up its competitor's infrastructure and hindering the company from gaining a foothold.
Dustin Volz's interview with the anonymous FTC official, published in The National Journal, claims that the tactics used by the sparring taxi services are similar to elements of previous antitrust cases.
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"The heart of what's offensive here, the indispensable ingredient, is the canceled orders," the official told Volz. "That kind of behavior would be seen as having no redeeming benefits at all, poses competitive burdens, and falls within the conception of unfair competition."
The charges from The Verge and other media outlets could easily cause federal and state regulators to investigate Uber. The service already faces obstacles from taxi driver unions and city governments almost daily, as well. Uber, of course, remains popular despite the bad publicity.
