Ubers woes continue as it is hit with a ban in Italy

Uber’s tribulations continue. As a Judge in the US ruminates on whether the company plagiarised a key self-driving car technology from Waymo, Italy has banned the mobile-first cab service after an Italian court ruled that it competes unfairly with the company’s existing taxi services, Italian newspaper La Repubblica reports.

Italian Judge Alfredo Landi gave Uber 10 days to comply with the ruling, which prevents it from offering taxi services or from advertising in the country. He also imposed a fine of €10,000 for every day after the 10-day window that Uber fails to comply.

In a statement (translated from the Italian), Uber denounced the decision, saying: “We are appalled by what was announced by the order going in the opposite direction from the Milleproroghe Decree and European legislation. We will appeal against this decision, based on an old law of 25 years and no longer reflects the times, to allow thousands of professional drivers to continue working through the app Uber and people to have more choices… Now the government can not waste any time but must decide whether to remain anchored to the past, protecting income position, or allow Italians to benefit from new technologies such as Uber.”

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