Most Gig Economy Companies Fall Flat on Safeguarding User Privacy, EFF Report Says

Most sharing or gig economy companies such as Airbnb, FlipKey and TaskRabbit aren't meeting industry best practices for privacy and transparency, specifically about government requests for access to user data, the Electronic Frontier Foundation said in a report released Thursday. Such companies amass people's personal data about purchases and whereabouts, but also collect the content of communications and geolocation data from people's cellphones, said EFF Activism Director Rainey Reitman in a news release. "But are these companies respecting their users’ rights when the government comes knocking? For much of the gig economy, the answer is no," she said. EFF analyzed 10 companies, but only Lyft and Uber received credit in all six categories "for their transparency around government access requests, commitments to protecting Fourth Amendment rights in relation to user communications and location data, advocacy on the federal level for user privacy, and commitment to providing users with notice about law enforcement requests," the report said. FlipKey earned credit in four categories, while Airbnb and Instacart each got credit in three. The remaining companies didn't get any credit. Over the past six years, EFF has published annual overviews of public policies and practices of major tech and communications companies about law enforcement requests, which have improved over the years. It was the first year looking at gig economy companies. EFF Deputy Executive Director Kurt Opsahl said it takes time for industries to adopt best practices. "Internet companies care deeply about user privacy and government access to user data, which is why the Internet industry has been vocal in our support for [Electronic Communications Privacy Act] reform legislation, the USA Freedom Act, and strong encryption," emailed a spokesman for the Internet Association. Its members include Airbnb, Lyft and Uber, its website said.