Rideshare drivers tell Atlanta council app surveillance threatens livelihoods, ask for task force

Miss Lisa, a rideshare driver and public commenter, told the Atlanta City Council at the start of the meeting that drivers “were banned from forming a union to protect ourselves” and face constant monitoring by app companies that use “secret algorithm[s] to squeeze every dollar from riders while paying drivers as little as possible.” She said drivers have no local supervisor or office to appeal to and can be removed from platforms over “a document glitch, a false complaint, or a traffic ticket.”

Miss Lisa asked the council to create a terms‑and‑conditions (T&C) task force so drivers can “have a seat at the table” and see the data collected on them, to secure a fair appeals process and to limit surveillance that can be used to identify and retaliate against worker‑organizers. “Drivers should be able to use technology for safety and fairness, not to be monitored like machines,” she said.

Council staff and the chair advised her that the transportation committee, which meets later in the morning, may be the right venue for a fuller discussion of the request and offered to transfer her comments. The council did not take formal action on the request during this meeting.

The comment was recorded during the public‑comment portion of the agenda and was not answered substantively by any named city department in the transcript. No formal referral or motion was recorded to create the task force; the transcript indicates the transportation committee meeting was suggested as the appropriate forum for further discussion.