NCLA Tells Second Circuit: Stop New York City’s Unconstitutional Rideshare Tracking Regime
Wheely USA, Inc., Mayfair-NY LLC, Kensington-NY LLC v. The City of New York
Washington, D.C., July 03, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- New York City’s Location Reporting Rules force companies that operate “for-hire vehicles”—including rideshare services like Wheely USA and Uber—to hand over precise location data tracking their drivers’ and passengers’ movements to a comprehensive New York Taxi and Limousine Commission database, without suspicion, probable cause, or a warrant. This subjects residents to continuous surveillance in violation of the Fourth Amendment, which requires government searches of private parties to be justified and tailored to specific parties and situations.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York issued an order dismissing the Wheely USA, et al. v. City of New York lawsuit and denying its Plaintiffs’ requests for injunctions that would stop this unconstitutional scheme. The court wrongly found that the for-hire vehicle industry is a “closely-regulated” one where Fourth Amendment warrant protections do not apply under Supreme Court precedent. The New Civil Liberties Alliance has filed an amicus curiae brief urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit to reverse the dismissal and order the district court to enter judgment in favor of Wheely USA and its fellow Plaintiffs.
The Supreme Court has ruled that an industry must be “intrinsically dangerous” and “pervasively regulated” to qualify as “closely regulated” and go unprotected from warrantless searches under the Fourth Amendment. The for-hire vehicle industry is not intrinsically dangerous or “pervasively regulated,” being under no higher level of regulation than a variety of others in New York City. Supreme Court precedent also requires that warrantless inspections of even closely-regulated businesses advance a substantial government interest. Indiscriminately collecting location data on for-hire vehicle drivers and passengers does not serve such an interest either. The Fourth Amendment was specifically designed to stop dragnet surveillance like this.
The New York Taxi and Limousine Commission’s monthly mandates requiring for-hire vehicle companies to hand over location data are not reviewed or approved by a court beforehand. These mandates operate like the administrative subpoenas that government agencies send to companies in other industries for records. Administrative subpoenas issued before judicial review and approval are unconstitutional.
NCLA released the following statements:
“The district court’s undemanding analysis expands what the Supreme Court branded a ‘narrow exception’ to a point where it would ‘swallow the rule’ without even first stopping to chew.”
— Faith Scrivo, Constitutional Litigation Fellow, NCLA
“The City of New York should not be allowed to construct a surveillance state via regulation. The Second Circuit should reverse this erroneous decision and reinforce the Fourth Amendment as a fundamental barrier against arbitrary government invasion.”
— Andreia Trifoi, Staff Attorney, NCLA
For more information visit the amicus page here.
ABOUT NCLA
NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.
Joe Martyak New Civil Liberties Alliance 703-403-1111 joe.martyak@ncla.legal
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