DoorDash Sues New York City (Again), This Time Over Customer Data

DoorDash launches a second lawsuit against New York City

DoorDash is suing New York City over a law that would require the company to share the data it collects on customers with restaurants. The lawsuit, filed in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday, is the second case the delivery company has brought against the city in less than a week, which Crains New York Business first reported.

Under DoorDash’s privacy policy, the company reserves the right to collect and share the personal data of its customers “for the purpose of performing services on our behalf.” When customers use their Facebook account to log into DoorDash, for example, the delivery company may exchange “relevant personal information” with the social networking site. DoorDash may also share customer data with third-party companies, including those that handle payment processing, advertising, analytics, and marketing, according to the policy.

Notably, restaurants aren’t included in that list and forcing DoorDash to hand over customer data would violate its constitutional rights, the company argues in the suit. “By forcing DoorDash to disclose that trade secret to restaurants, the ordinance eliminates DoorDash’s central property right in the trade secret — the right to exclusive use,” the lawsuit claims, according to Crains. “And the right to exclusive use is the reason the trade secret has economic value.”

It’s the second suit the delivery company has filed against New York City in the last week. On September 10, DoorDash joined Grubhub and Uber Eats in suing the city to halt a permanent delivery fee cap passed by the City Council in August.

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