Today in skeevy tech news, The Guardian reports that Uber employees have allegedly tracked Beyoncé’s comings-and-goings by using the company’s “God View†data, according to information disclosed in court documents. The claims come from the company’s former forensic investigator, Samuel Ward Spangenberg, who is currently suing Uber, alleging that age discrimination and whistle-blower retaliation resulted in his being fired. In an official court statement, Spangenberg also said that he approached his bosses over breaches in ethics that included storing employee and customer data in an unsafe manner.
The aforementioned “God View†tool was created by the company to investigate accidents and refund claims, but was also used by some employees to gather data on politicians, celebrities (like Beyoncé), and even personal acquaintances and exes. While Uber has admitted that there were some unethical uses of the “God View,†which they have since renamed “Heaven View,†the company asserts that “fewer than 10†workers abused the technology, and that they have been fired as a result. Since then the car service has also enforced a new system that flags any searches on “high-profile†clients, but, as Spangenberg points out, that still does not protect friends, family members, or former romantic partners, who would statistically be exposed to the highest risk of violence or aggressive stalking.