The ruling is a massive blow to Uber as it has long held that it is a digital services company and not a transportation company. The ruling from the European Court of Justice on Wednesday will impact how Uber is regulated across Europe, CNBC reports. In the ruling, the judges dismissed Uber’s claim of being only a digital services company:
“The service provided by Uber is more than an intermediation service consisting of connecting, by means of a smartphone application, a nonprofessional driver using his or her own vehicle with a person who wishes to make an urban journey. The application provided by Uber is indispensable for both the drivers and the persons who wish to make an urban journey.”
This now means that Uber will have to work closely with European governments that determine licensing and transport rules–just as they do for other taxi services. As the ECJ is Europe’s highest court, Uber will not be able to appeal the ruling. For its part, Uber was trying to put the best spin on the ruling they could with a company spokesperson saying, “This ruling will not change things in most EU countries where we already operate under transportation law.”
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