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Ride sharing firm last year gave U.S. authorities data on 12 million riders, drivers or trips.
Uber does not supply data on riders, drivers or trips to governments in the Middle East, unlike in the United States, where it announced in April it had provided information on more than 12 million riders and drivers to various U.S. federal agencies, the company's regional manager said.
The ride-sharing company said in April the data it had provided U.S. authorities with during in the second half of 2015 was part of its first ever transparency report and included detailed pickup and drop off points, fares, vehicles and drivers and, in some cases, were related to investigations into fraud or the use of stolen credit cards.
The report, published on the company's website, did not disclose details on the sharing of data with governments outside the United States. However, Uber's regional general manager for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, Jambu Palaniappan, told Zawya no data had been handed over to authorities in the Middle East.
"We keep our rider and driver data private," he said in an interview in May this year. "If there is any specific reason for legal, law, or something that someone from government or law enforcement needs that information then we will comply with it. But if someone just comes and knocks on our door and says 'I want to know what [a rider] did on Tuesday night, can you give me his data?' that wouldn't do. There needs to be a legitimate reason for why we are giving this data," he added.
An Uber spokesperson told Zawya in June "a legitimate reason means a formal request from government or enforcement to the organisation. This is the company policy worldwide." She did not elaborate on whether data on Uber drivers or customers had been provided to government agencies outside the U.S.
When asked why the policy was different in the U.S. and the Middle East, Palaniappan said "it's hard to comment on why they did it in the U.S. but we haven't had those issues in the UAE or the region."
The San Francisco-based firm has strong links to the region. The Qatar Investment Authority last year was among investors who participated in a $1.2 billion financing round, according to the Wall Street Journal, while the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund invested $3.5 billion in the company in June. The latest round of financing values the company at $62.5 billion, Reuters said.
* The full interview with Jambu Palaniappan, Uber's regional general manager for Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, will be published next week on Zawya.com
© Zawya 2016
