Ridesharing, food delivery companies win Californian vote to treat drivers as contractors

Ridesharing and food delivery companies such as Uber can treat drivers as contractors and not employees following a massive electoral win in California.

App-based drivers from Uber and Lyft protest in front of City Hall in Los Angeles, California. Picture: AFP.

Hello and welcome to The Download, The Australian’s technology blog for the latest tech news.

2.00pm: Facebook removes election “stealing” group

Facebook has removed a fast-growing group of more than 360,000 members called “Stop the Steal” that was organising protests of vote counts around the country.

President Donald J. Trump has claimed widespread voter fraud and has repeatedly claimed that Democrats and polling officials are out to steal the election from him, a stand that has gained traction with Trump supporters. One of the outcomes is the “Stop the Steal” Facebook group.

Facebook citied concerns the group was “organised around the delegitimization of the election process, and we saw worrying calls for violence from some members of the group”. A company spokesman told MarketWatch that Facebook had taken down the group.

News organizations and fact-checking groups have found no evidence to date of the fraud that President Trump claims.

Dow Jones Newswires

David Swan 1.45pm: US election has implications for local tech

A Biden win would help provide a boost to the Australian tech sector and the US-Australia alliance, according Daniel Lai, CEO of Canberra-based cybersecurity firm archTIS.

Mr Lai said the biggest implication for the Australian technology industry to be driven out of the US election is directly related to the impact it will have to our alliance. Biden is currently on track for a narrow victory in the election.

“[The alliance] will determine the extent and desire for the Australian government to drive a sovereign technology industry, specifically in the defence and critical infrastructure industries. In many ways this has been determined by the current geopolitical circumstance of the rise of China and its trade war with the US,” Mr Lai said.

According to the executive, Australia is less likely to be impacted by the tax issues, Antitrust cases and the social media regulations currently at play in the US.

“In this regard the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission who has completed the Digital Platforms Inquiry and introduced the Consumer Data Right protections will have a greater impact,” he said.

“However, the biggest driver for the Australian tech industry will be the pandemic and the Australian government’s desire to drive economic recovery through industries and the Defence sector. The shift to ‘work from home’ and the rapid acceleration of the digital transformation of the global economy are clear cases of this.

“This, combined with the increasing awareness of the need for cyber security and resilience are driving the local tech industry.”

Chris Griffith 7.45am: Uber & others win Californian vote

While all eyes are on the presidential vote count, some US states have held local referendums with big consequences.

Proposition 22 in California was to allow delivery service companies such as Uber, its rival Lyft and food delivery companies to engage drivers as contractors rather than employees and it seems the proposition has won easily with a reported vote of about 58 per cent.

(FILES) In this file photo taken on May 8, 2019 An Uber logo is seen on a sign outside the company's headquarters location as people protest nearby in San Francisco, California. - California voters put the brakes November 3 on a law stopping ride share firms such as Uber and Lyft from classifying drivers as independent contractors, according to US media. (Photo by Josh Edelson / AFP)

This is no doubt a blow to labour organisations that advocate that drivers deserve full employee rights with regular work, health care benefits (as occurs in the US) and leave.

The ride share and delivery companies however mounted what had been regarded as the most well funded campaign in the state’s history. The Orange County Register reported that gig companies such as DoorDash, Postmates and Instacart and those opposing the measure spent more than $225 million to convince consumers and others that it was in their interests to get rid of the need to provide drivers with employee status.

In Australia The Transport Workers Union has been campaigning heavily for Australian drivers and riders to be treated as employees rather than contractors.

The one consolation is a requirement for a minimum wage and some subsidies for drivers and riders who average 25 hours of work per week.