Judgment in Case C-434/15 Asociación Profesional Elite Taxi v Uber Systems Spain SL

Further information:

The Court takes the view that the service provided by Uber is more than an intermediation service consisting of connecting, by means of a smartphone application, a non-professional driver using his or her own vehicle with a person who wishes to make an urban journey.

Therefore, the Court finds that that intermediation service must be regarded as forming an integral part of an overall service whose main component is a transport service and, accordingly, must be classified not as 'an information society service' but as 'a service in the field of transport'.

Consequently, such a service must be excluded from the scope of the freedom to provide services in general as well as the directive on services in the internal market and the directive on electronic commerce. The Court argues that Member States can therefore regulate the conditions for providing that service.

Background information:

The electronic platform Uber provides, by means of a smartphone application, a paid service consisting of connecting non-professional drivers using their own vehicle with persons who wish to make urban journeys.

In 2014, a professional taxi drivers’ association in Barcelona (Spain) brought an action before the Commercial Court No 3 seeking a declaration from that court that the activities of Uber Systems Spain, a company related to Uber Technologies, amount to misleading practices and acts of unfair competition.

+ CJEU Advocate General’s Opinion in Case C-434/15, May 2017

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided on 20 December 2017 that the service provided by Uber connecting individuals with non-professional drivers is covered by services in the field of transport.

• Primary Source

BBC News, 20.12.17: Uber is officially a cab firm, says European court http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42423627

Reuters, 18.12.17: EU's top court to decide whether Uber is a digital app or a taxi service https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN1EC21V

The Guardian, 20.12.17: Uber to face stricter EU regulation after ECJ rules it is transport firm https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/dec/20/uber-european-court-of-justice-ruling-barcelona-taxi-drivers-ecj-eu

Politico, 20.12.17: Uber is a transportation company, Europe’s highest court rules https://www.politico.eu/article/uber-ecj-ruling/

The New York Times, 20.12.17: Uber Dealt Setback After European Court Rules It Is a Taxi Service https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/20/business/uber-europe-ecj.html

EurActiv, 20.12.17: Uber needs prior authorisations to operate, EU court says http://www.euractiv.com/section/future-of-mobility/news/uber-needs-prior-authorisations-to-operate-eu-court-says/

EUObserver, 20.12.17: Uber is a transport service, EU court rules https://euobserver.com/economic/140367

EU Law Analysis: Blog, 21.12.17: Why Uber isn’t Appy: the ECJ defines the difference between transport and digital services http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2017/12/why-uber-isnt-appy-ecj-defines.html

Euro|topics, December 2017: EU judges put the brakes on Uber https://www.eurotopics.net/en/191525/eu-judges-put-the-brakes-on-uber

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