Algorithmic Deactivation ('Firing by App') Removes Thousands of Rideshare Drivers Without Due Process

Uber and Lyft use automated systems to permanently deactivate driver accounts based on rider complaints, rating thresholds, or opaque safety flags, often without telling the driver what specific behavior triggered the action or providing a meaningful appeals process. Drivers lose their income source instantly with no hearing, no union grievance procedure, and no recourse beyond submitting a form into a black-box review system. Why it matters: Drivers who depend on platform income are cut off without warning or explanation, so they cannot correct the alleged behavior or defend against false complaints, so immigrants and drivers of color who face higher rates of discriminatory rider complaints are disproportionately removed, so a chilling effect emerges where remaining drivers accept worse pay and conditions out of fear of deactivation, so platforms gain even more leverage to suppress wages and extract compliance without any accountability for wrongful terminations. The structural root cause is that because gig workers are classified as independent contractors rather than employees, they have no access to wrongful termination protections, unemployment insurance, or collective bargaining rights, and platforms face no legal obligation to provide due process before severing the income relationship.