Uber could be outlawed in Italy after a judge in Rome ordered a ban on its services.
The taxi firm has been found guilty of unfair practices after Judge Alfredo Landi said its ride-hailing smartphone app was disadvantageous to other taxi drivers in Italy.
The use of Uber’s Black, Lux, Suv, X , XL, Select and Van services has been banned. The judge ruled that Uber cannot operate or advertise in Italy either.
Uber has promised to appeal against the ruling having been given 10 days to suspend its services, after which it will be subject to a €10,000 (about $10,600) fine for every day of non-compliance.
The lawsuit was filed by Italy’s taxi associations, which have taken the US company to court four times since 2015, winning bans on its Pop service in Milan and Turin.
Lawyers for the taxi drivers said that the ruling blocked “the most egregious form of unfair competition ever seen in the Italian market for local public transport”.
Uber’s lawyers want the ruling overturned on appeal. They said that it was based on an outdated law and protected privileged profits.
Uber won a similar court case in London last year when the High Court ruled its app did not breach the law.
Last month Uber was forced to announce it will shortly stop operating in Denmark after the government changed the country’s rules concerning taxi regulations.
A law was passed requiring cabs to display fare meters and seat occupancy detectors to activate airbags after pressure from Danish taxi driver unions.
