The European Union's top court has ruled that Uber Technologies Inc. should be regulated like a taxi company, Bloomberg reports.
The car-hailing app had argued that it’s a technology platform connecting passengers with independent drivers, not a transportation company subject to the same rules as taxi services.
The decision was closely watched by the technology industry because it could set a precedent for how firms in the burgeoning gig economy are regulated across the 28-nation bloc.
The EU Court of Justice ruling in Luxembourg cannot be appealed.
The case centered around UberPop ride-hailing service in several European cities that allowed drivers without a taxi license to use their own cars to pick up passengers.