Consumer Watchdog Eyes Uber for Transparency Regarding Autonomous Vehicles

Consumer Watchdog Eyes Driverless Cars & Taxis

As self-driving Uber taxi vehicles flood the streets of Pittsburgh, Consumer Watchdog, a California based non-profit advocacy organization, is pressuring the company to be more transparent of the company’s plans and details surrounding the emerging technology.

A primary concern for the organization is that Pennsylvania, unlike other states, has no regulations concerning self-driving cars.  Therefore, in the public interest, the company should be fully transparent.

The organization sent an official letter to the company asking a series of questions and requesting commitments from the company regarding crashes and data the company collects involving the autonomous technology.

“You have opted to use public roads as your laboratory and with that comes a responsibility to fully disclose exactly what you are doing both when things go right and when they inevitably go wrong,” wrote Consumer Watchdog Privacy Project Director John Simpson.

Eight states, along with Washington DC, regulate the vehicles.