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Uber
has acknowledged using the software, known as Greyball, to
circumvent government officials who were trying to clamp down on
Uber in areas where its service had not yet been approved,
including Portland. It has since stopped the use of the software
for that purpose, saying the program was created to check ride
requests to prevent fraud and safeguard drivers
Reuters reported on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice
has begun a criminal investigation into Uber's Greyball program,
and that a Northern California grand jury had issued a subpoena
to Uber concerning how the software tool functioned and where it
was deployed.
Portland began its own investigation of Greyball after the New
York Times revealed its existence in March. Uber has shared some
information with the city but has not turned over the Greyball
software itself.
In an interview on Friday, Portland Commissioner Dan Saltzman,
who oversees the city's transportation department, said his
colleagues on the city council have pledged to support a
subpoena against Uber, which will be voted on next week. If Uber
does not comply, Portland could ultimately review its ability to
operate in the city, Saltzman said.
"We are not ready to go there yet," Saltzman said.
In a statement, Uber's general manager for Oregon Bryce Bennett
said the company has "fully cooperated" with Portland and
provided relevant information to its investigation. The city
said it found no evidence Uber used Greyball to avoid inspectors
since Uber was allowed to operate there in 2015.
Portland received its own subpoena from the Northern California
grand jury for records relating to Uber's activities, including
emails between the city and the company or its representatives,
according to a copy of the document reviewed by Reuters.
The subpoena to Portland was issued on March 10, a week after
the New York Times report.
The Portland subpoena does not indicate what criminal laws are
at issue in the probe. Likewise, Uber's grand jury subpoena does
not list any federal statutes that may have been violated, a
source familiar with the document said.
A subpoena from a grand jury is a request for documents or
testimony concerning a potential crime. It does not, in itself,
indicate wrongdoing or mean charges will be brought.
In a statement, Saltzman said the city supports the federal
investigation.
(Reporting by Dan Levine in San Francisco, editing by Peter
Henderson and Cynthia Osterman)
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