A French court on Friday ruled that Uber Inc’s ridesharing service may infringe French law and ordered the company to make changes to its popular mobile app-based service.
However, the court did not ban the service, which has been established across 45 countries and launched in France earlier this year. Uber matches people seeking rides with drivers through a mobile phone app.
The contretemps is the latest in a string of challenges that Uber and other ride-hailing companies such as Lyft face around the world, as taxi drivers argue that the new car hire services have an unfair advantage because they do not have to follow the same regulations and can afford to offer cheaper prices.
The Paris Commercial Court said on Friday that it is ordering Uber to withdraw from its app in France “all mention suggesting it is legal” for Uber’s drivers to act like taxis — that is, driving around and waiting for clients.
The court also said it is up to a French criminal court to decide if the company should be fined.
In a case brought by taxi and limosine companies earlier this year, Uber was convicted by the criminal court of engaging in misleading commercial practices. The ride-hailing service is appealing the verdict, but a ruling is not expected for several months.
Uber did not immediately return calls seeking comment about Friday’s ruling.
Maxime de Guillenchmidt, a lawyer representing limosine companies that brought the commercial court lawsuit, said they are only partially satisfied by its verdict.
“We wanted the court to immediately order Uber to stop this service, which infringes the law,” Guillenchmidt said. “Uber has won time [with the ruling], during which they will win lots of market share.”
While the court’s decision must come as a relief for San Francisco-based Uber, the company’s legal tussles took a new form when the Brussels Government on Friday said it filed a criminal complaint against Uber.
“As long as Uber refuses to abide by the basic rules for security, responsibility and social security, it will remain an illegal service,” Brussels Minister of Transport Pascal Smet said in a statement on his Web site.
The complaint will enable prosecutors “to proceed with an in-depth inquiry” to determine whether fiscal and social security rules are upheld, Brussels authorities said in the statement. The city also said it warned Google Inc and Apple Inc that making Uber’s service available to users “encourages illegal practices.”
The Brussels authority said it asked the Belgian police’s computer crime unit to put Uber’s Web site offline in the country. The government also said it joined a civil complaint against Uber by a city taxi company, Taxi Verts.
The Brussels’ decision adds to a week of setbacks for the startup: It was sued by the district attorneys of Los Angeles and San Francisco over claims it makes false assurances about drivers’ background checks. That followed a ban in Spain, while Rio de Janeiro declared the service illegal and the Netherlands halted its ridesharing service.
The company was also sued by the city of Portland, Oregon, this week for allegedly violating local laws, while in India, New Delhi banned the company after one of its drivers was accused of raping a passenger.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg
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