Italian court withdraws ban on Uber services after appeal

An Italian court has ruled in an appeal case that Uber may offer its services in the country. In April, a lower court issued a ban after taxi companies filed a lawsuit.

The taxi companies believed that Uber is guilty of unfair competition. They themselves have to adhere to strict rules, while there is hardly any regulation for apps like Uber, writes news agency Reuters following the decision. After the ruling, Uber announced that its app will continue to be allowed in Italy.

The ban imposed in April was accompanied by a fine of 10,000 euros per day if Uber did not comply with the measure within ten days. Shortly afterwards, however, the ban was temporarily lifted again to await the verdict in the appeal case. As a result of the current ruling, the cancellation remains in effect.

According to politics aimed the lawsuit is against various services of the American company, including UberBlack. UberPop, which allows unlicensed drivers to transport people, has been banned in Italy since 2015. Taxi drivers organized strikes in February to protest the growing number of transport apps. The Italian government wants to introduce regulations at the end of this year.

The European Court of Justice is considering whether Uber should be seen as a taxi company or as an online service. In an advice, which is often followed, the Advocate General stated at the beginning of this month that Uber mainly derives its value from car journeys and is therefore primarily a service in the transport sector.