Uber will likely need to follow same rules as taxi companies in Europe

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Uber isn't a benign platform offering to ferry people from A to B via a simple app-it's a transportation service and as such must comply with the relevant rules, a law adviser at Europe's top court has said.

In a non-binding opinion, advocate general Maciej Szpunar concluded that "the service offered by Uber cannot be classified as an 'information society service'." If the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) agrees with Szpunar, Uber will face a major regulatory setback that could nobble its expansion plans.

In the majority of judgments, Europe's highest court sides with the advocate general's opinion.

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