07:25 AM EDT, 08/26/2024 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates to add Uber's ( UBER ) comment in the last two paragraphs.)

Uber Technologies ( UBER ) has to pay a fine of 290 million euros ($324.2 million) for not meeting EU data privacy standards when transferring the personal data of European drivers to the US, the Dutch Data Protection Authority said Monday.

The Dutch watchdog said the ride-hailing service operator transferred data to its headquarters in the US for more than two years without adequate protections required under the EU data protection code.

The EU's top court invalidated in 2020 the Privacy Shield agreement that allowed companies to transfer data from the EU to the US. Standard clauses in contracts could provide a basis for transferring data outside the bloc, as long as "an equivalent level of protection can be guaranteed in practice," the Dutch DPA said, citing the court.

"Because Uber ( UBER ) no longer used Standard Contractual Clauses from August 2021, the data of drivers from the EU were insufficiently protected," the watchdog said, adding that Uber ( UBER ) only began using the successor to the Privacy Shield by the end of last year.

Uber ( UBER ) objected to the fine, the Dutch DPA said. A company spokesperson said it intends to appeal.

"This flawed decision and extraordinary fine are completely unjustified," the spokesperson said in an emailed statement to MT Newswires. "Uber's ( UBER ) cross-border data transfer process was compliant with GDPR during a 3-year period of immense uncertainty between the EU and US."

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