Uber is spamming users with political push notifications ahead of a key gig worker vote

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge Unwanted smartphone notifications are always a pain in the app, but not often are these messages so nakedly political as the latest batch sent out by Uber in California. Uber is one of a number of gig economy firms currently waging a $186 million campaign against a Californian state law that requires them to classify their workers as employees (with all the attendant benefits and rights). To try and avoid this, Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and others have pushed a ballot known as Proposition 22 or Prop 22 that would exempt them from the law, and are in turn pushing their users to vote in their favor. The push notifications seem to break Apple’s App Store rules True to its reputation, Uber seems to be taking a particularly aggressive stance.... Continue reading…