Greyball

Greyball is a software tool developed and used by Uber to identify and deny service to certain riders, including riders whom Uber suspects of violating its terms of service. Uber's use of Greyball was made public in a March 3, 2017, investigative report by The New York Times, which described how, as early as 2014, Uber had used Greyball to evade local government authorities in the United States, Australia, South Korea, and China. and it promised to stop using the tool for that purpose. However, after The New York Times revealed Greyball's existence in March 2017,
According to the New York Times report, which was based on interviews of four current and former Uber employees and a review of internal Uber documents, Greyball used several methods to identify and deny service to government officials who were investigating Uber for violations of local laws, especially when Uber moved into a new city. The Department of Justice initially focused on Portland, but the inquiry was expanded to include Philadelphia.
City of Portland investigation
On March 6, 2017, the City of Portland, Oregon announced an investigation into whether Uber had used Greyball to obstruct the enforcement of city regulations. The investigation by the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) found that:
Following the release of the audit, Portland's commissioner of police suggested that the city subpoena Uber in order to force the company to turn over information on how Uber used software to evade regulatory officials.
Transport for London ruling
Transport for London cited the use of Greyball in London as one of the reasons for its decision not to renew Uber's private hire operator licence in September 2017. The decision stated that the way in which Uber used Greyball contributed to it failing to meet the standards of a "fit and proper" private hire operator. Consequently, Uber would not be able to operate legally in London after its licence expired on 30 September 2017 unless they entered an appeal within 21 days. Uber's appeal against the ban was heard at on 25 June 2018. Meanwhile, it continued to operate in London.

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