Newly unsealed court documents have pulled back the curtain on the scale of sexual misconduct reports lodged against rideshare giant Uber, raising renewed concerns about safety for passengers—particularly women—who rely on the app for late-night travel.
From 2017 to 2022, Uber received over 400,000 reports of sexual assault or misconduct in the United States, according to information reviewed by the courts and whistleblower testimony. That equates to one reported incident every eight minutes, on average, over a five-year period.
Despite publicly advertising itself as a safer alternative to traditional transportation, Uber has struggled behind the scenes with a persistent pattern of abuse claims. The company’s internal safety research reveals that such incidents are most likely to occur on weekends and late at night, often involving rides requested near nightlife venues. Women are disproportionately the victims—whether passengers or drivers—and the alleged perpetrators are typically male.
Internal teams at Uber, including data scientists and safety officers, reportedly flagged these patterns years ago. However, former employees claim the company failed to adequately inform users of these risk factors, choosing instead to focus on marketing and expanding its customer base.
“There were tools we knew would reduce harm,” one former staffer said, “but implementing them across the platform would have clashed with growth goals.”
Proposed safety features—such as in-car cameras and the ability for women to request female drivers—were piloted but not made mandatory. According to internal presentations, Uber had even developed algorithmic models aimed at predicting ride pairings likely to result in misconduct, but the models lacked sufficient accuracy.
Cameras were seen internally as a more promising solution, with experts noting that even the presence of a visible camera (active or not) could deter inappropriate behavior. However, the initiative was shelved amid concerns it would undermine the company’s contractor-based business model and alienate drivers.
Hannah Nilles, Uber’s head of safety for the Americas, acknowledged the 400,000+ reports but downplayed their severity, claiming about 75% were categorized as “less serious,” including inappropriate comments or lewd language. She also raised the possibility that some reports were made dishonestly to secure fare refunds, though admitted Uber had not yet fully audited the data.
Critics argue such framing ignores the emotional impact of unwanted sexual behavior and fails to reckon with the probable underreporting by victims. Fear of retaliation, social stigma, or simply not being believed—especially when a driver knows where a passenger lives—are all powerful deterrents to reporting.
As litigation moves forward and more internal documents become public, legal and advocacy groups are demanding systemic change at Uber and within the rideshare industry. Many are calling for increased transparency, stronger oversight of drivers, and a reassessment of the contractor model that has shielded the company from responsibility.
Some 150+ organizations, including legal experts and women’s rights advocates, have urged Uber to adopt mandatory in-vehicle safety protocols, greater passenger-driver matching controls, and robust third-party safety audits.
