Uber Shrugs Off Berlin Ban

In what will likely go down as one of the more appropriately metal moves of a ridesharing service, the ridesharing service Uber has roundly declare “Nein!” to

Berlin’s State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs has thusly decided to ignore a prohibitive order issued against them.  The department alleges that Uber hasn’t done enough to protect the safety of its passengers, and has threatened the service with hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines if they ignore the order, reports TechCrunch.

One of the nice things about a valuation of 18.2 billion, apparently, is never having to say you’re sorry and instead opting to just pay the fine.  Uber’s driver are still in operation despite the ban.

German drivers are legally required to obtain a taxi license if they don’t return customer to the place they first picked them up.

“Uber thus must not use a smartphone app or similar offers as of now, or arrange offers through this app which infringe the passenger transportation law,” the department said in a press release on Wednesday.

This is one of many legal scuffles Uber has found itself in around the world as it disrupts traditional taxi services and chooses to flout local ordinances in jurisdiction have jurisdiction.  From London, to Brussels, to Philadelphia to Madrid—Uber is making enemies and influencing people—into the streets to protest against them, as happened in London in early June.

Uber has been officially banned in Berlin since April, when the courts rule the service illegal.  However, the original claimant in that case hasn’t enforced the order, whereas Berlin’s State Department says it fully intends to.