Uber has been grabbing headlines this week because of privacy issues concerning the app, and now, Uber is under fire again for reportedly tracking riders' whereabouts without their permission, New York Post reports.
Uber has a tool called "God View" where corporate employees can see the location of Uber Vehicles as well as riders who request a car, according to two of its former employees who revealed the information on Buzzfeed.
Though Uber did not comment on the issue, neither confirming nor denying it, several Wall Street investors as well as Senator Al Franklin themselves are uncomfortable that someone or in this case, something is tracking down their location.
"I'm shocked at how lax they have been," said Clifford Press, co-founder of hedge fund Oliver Press Partners. The alleged spying "is going to be an issue for Wall Street in general, but also law firms - everybody," Press said.
"The idea that you're off doing a secret deal and someone is tracking your whereabouts - it's insane," the founder of a NYC private equity firm told The Post.
Several affluent Wall Street people are reportedly irked by the company's "prying eyes" and them snooping on their travel habits.
Josh Mohrer, Uber's New York general manager, was suspected to have tracked a BuzzFeed reporter's whereabouts earlier this month.
Mohrer is known for insulting critics as well as drivers publicly on social media web site Twitter.
He reportedly personally met with a BuzzFeed reporter outside of the company's office in Long Island City, Queens early November.
And when they got to stand in front of each other, Mohrer told the female reporter, "There you are. I was tracking you."
Taylor Bennett, a spokesman from Uber said in a blog post that the company follows "a strict policy prohibiting all employees at every level from accessing a rider or driver's data-except for a limited set of 'legitimate business purposes.'"
With the Uber app downloaded on a user's smartphone to connect passengers with drivers of vehicle for hire. Customers use the app to call rides and tack their reserved vehicle's location.
Meanwhile, Ashton Kutcher, who is coincidentally an investor in Uber, defended the company in question saying, "What is so wrong about digging up dirt on shady journalist? @pando @TechCrunch @Uber" on his Twitter account, but later on retracted his comment admitting he was in the "wrong side" of the issue.
