Colombia Blocks Uber From Using Its Ride-Hailing App

Uber was ordered last Friday by a Colombian judge to stop securing business in their country via its popular ride-hailing app, according to a report from Reuters.

The country’s Superintendency of Industry and Commerce (SIC) said Uber, with 2.3 active users and roughly 88,000 driver partners in Columbia, violated market rules. The decision follows a lawsuit filed against the company by COTECH SA.

The SIC ordered Uber’s ride-hailing services “through the use of the Uber application to cease immediately.” The order impacts Uber, Uber X and Uber VAN.

In a statement, the SIC said Uber generated “a significant advantage in the market” by rendering transport services for individuals via its app.

Columbia’s Technology Ministry approves ride-hailing apps as legal while transport authorities say they are against the law.

“This decision reflects an act of censorship and infringes on the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights, which has already condemned attempts to block Uber for violating the neutrality of the web, liberty of expression and freedom of internet,” Uber said in a statement, immediately appealing the SIC’s decision.

Other Uber services such as food-delivery service Uber Eats were not prohibited by the ruling, Andres Barreto González, SIC head, confirmed.

The large, U.S.-based company was previously sanctioned in Columbia in late summer of 2019 with a fine of more than $629,000 for obstructing an administrative visit and failing to comply with prior SIC orders. Other countries have also taken recent legal action against Uber.