The Fight Against Uber's Immunity Isn't Over

By Accountable Iowa

August 11, 2026

Earlier this summer, we told you about Uber's push for something every powerful corporation seems to want these days: corporate immunity.

Specifically, a provision tucked into a federal transportation bill that would make it harder for victims of sexual assault, wrongful death, and catastrophic crashes to hold Uber accountable in court.

Here's the good news: that proposal has stalled. And it hasn't stalled by accident.

Nearly 1,900 sexual assault survivors have urged Congress to remove the provision, arguing that no corporation should receive special legal protections when its own safety failures put people at risk. Their voices, and the voices of countless advocates, have slowed the effort. But the fight is far from over.

At the same time, a new investigation by The New York Times raises an uncomfortable question: Why is Uber asking Congress for more legal protection while aggressively fighting survivors already seeking justice in court?

The investigation found that Uber's lawyers have questioned survivors about what they were wearing, how much they had to drink, their sexual history, childhood trauma, and even whether they had "contributed" to their own assaults. In one case, a woman sued after her Uber driver (who pleaded guilty to rape) assaulted her while she was unconscious. Yet Uber argued in court that she had "conducted herself in a negligent and careless manner."

The investigation also found that more than 4,000 lawsuits have been filed against Uber over sexual assaults and that the company's legal strategy often focuses on survivors' personal histories rather than the company's own safety practices.

That's why accountability matters. When corporations know they will be held responsible, they have a powerful incentive to improve background checks, strengthen safety measures, and protect the public. When they receive corporate immunity instead, that incentive disappears.

Here in Iowa, we've seen this playbook before. Powerful special interests ask lawmakers to limit the rights of ordinary people, all in the name of protecting corporations. Whether it's hospitals, nursing homes, pesticide manufacturers, or now rideshare giants, the message is always the same: protect the corporation, not the individual.

For now, public pressure has kept this proposal from moving forward. But as long as corporations keep asking lawmakers for special legal protections, we'll keep pushing back.