I upvoted you because a regulatory response is not really appropriate here. This is exactly the sort of thing the government is terrible at and their involvement will do more harm and good.

But that doesn't mean what Uber is doing is appropriate. What we need is a market response. The NY Times is doing it wrong by asking for "oversight" when they should be using their bully pulpit to encourage Uber's customers to demand that Uber stop retaining this information. The press can be as much a check on the market as it is on the government and that's exactly what they need to be here.

Uber isn't Google. You're paying them money. Companies that think they should get your money and your data can go screw.