Karl Stefanovic’s Uber driver proves privacy is dead
DON’T talk in an Uber ever again. Don’t take phone calls. Don’t chat to the person next to you. Be careful what you say to the driver. Karl Stefanovic has learned the hard way, writes Susie O’Brien.
Susie O'Brien
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I’D bet that ratings on the beleaguered Today received a mini boost yesterday as viewers turned in to see how co-host Georgie Gardner treated her colleague Karl Stefanovic.
It’s been revealed Stefanovic thinks she’s “wishy washy” and needs to commit to the show.
Gardner didn’t disappoint, turning a discussion about sausage dogs into a chance to brand him “pathetic”.
No one loves a bit of broadcast bitchiness more than me, but this entire exchange is the sizzle rather than the sausage.
HOW NEW IDEA WAS ABLE TO RUN DETAILS OF STEFANOVIC CALL
The real issue is how we know what was said in a personal conversation between Peter Stefanovic and his brother, Karl.
It all started when the brothers had a chat on speakerphone while Peter was riding with his wife, Sylvia Jeffreys, in an Uber.
It has been alleged the phone conversation was taped by the driver on his mobile phone, although the driver denies this.
Laws prohibit a recording obtained without consent, or a transcript of the recording, being made public, so the driver has gone public with his “recollections” of the conversation.
The conversation was apparently 45 minutes long and the driver could only have made notes afterwards. This is even more dodgy. What proof is there of what was said at all?
The driver was allegedly paid $50,000 for the privilege of abusing the privacy of his passenger by selling his story to New Idea. It’s alarming.
I know some people would say the brothers should not have had a conversation in an Uber, let alone on speakerphone. But this is beside the point. They had a right to privacy in the back of an Uber, and that right was breached.
Now we have learned what the brothers said to each other and, I have to say, I don’t really care.
It wasn’t as bad as it could have been given that they thought they were having a private brother-to-brother chat. So Karl thinks Georgie is a bit wishy washy? So what? So he thinks Richard Wilkins should share his interviews around? Who cares? So there’s a senior reporter who’s cold? Yawn.
The bigger issue for me is what this means for all Uber users.
I note the men issued a grovelling apology to their co-workers, but they shouldn’t have had to. They should never have been put in this position at all.
The driver in question has apparently had his app pulled, but I’ll bet this is as bad as it gets for him. I am sure he can just get another car and another app and start all over again.
If he was a taxi driver, this could be a breach of regulations and he could be banned from driving.
Peter Stefanovic says he’s given the driver “one star”, but only because you can’t give them zero stars.
I am not surprised because Uber has an appalling record when it comes to privacy.
Late last year, it was forced by US regulators to abandon a plan to track the post-trip locations of users.
This followed a 2014 data breach in which a hacker obtained private information about more than 100,000 drivers. Funnily enough, the role Uber has played in the current episode has been almost completely overlooked.
I know people are more interested in the private lives of our TV stars.
I get it; we’ve seen people such as Karl Stefanovic on air for so long we feel like we know them.
No doubt this sorry episode places additional pressure on the Today team, which has been struggling in recent months to compete with Channel 7’s Sunrise.
Once again, Stefanovic is in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons.
Although people don’t begrudge him from finding a new partner after his marriage breakdown, there’s a feeling it wasn’t handled all that well by him.
He has an irate ex-wife who’s made some very disparaging comments about him, and there are reports their children are upset and confused. This undermines Karl Stefanovic’s status as Australia’s No.1 knockabout good bloke.
Such talk is entertaining, but little more than low-level water cooler gossip. The bigger issue is the way this current issue has played out in the media, and its ramifications for all Uber users.
So now you all know where you stand — don’t talk in an Uber ever again; don’t take phone calls; don’t dictate emails; don’t chat to the person next to you; and be careful what you say to the driver.
You don’t have to be a well-paid host of a TV breakfast show to be concerned about how a private conversation between two brothers ended up as headline news. It shows none of us have any rights to privacy when we jump into someone else’s car.
It’s a reminder that, for all of Uber’s advantages, there are major downsides.
It’s a pity because a lot of people enjoy a chat with their Uber driver. Next time I might just get a cab.
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