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Third-party delivery companies win consumer data case against New York City

A U.S. District court judge has ruled in favor of DoorDash, Grubhub, and Uber that New York City can’t require the apps to disclose consumer data

Joanna Fantozzi, Senior Editor

September 26, 2024

2 Min Read
Delivery-bike-NYC
Delivery companies are fighting multiple pieces of legislation in New York City.

A U.S. district court judge has ruled in favor of DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub, and against New York City’s COVID-era rule that required the delivery apps to release consumer data to restaurant operators. Judge Analisa Torres ruled that New York City’s rule requiring delivery apps to share customer data with restaurants is unconstitutional. She said that the law improperly regulated commercial speech and was therefore in violation of the first amendment.

New York City originally passed the law in August 2021 as an attempt to help restaurants in the aftermath of COVID-19-related restaurant closures.

“Even if the court were to find that the city has a substantial interest in ensuring that restaurants obtain data about customers who order food, it has not demonstrated that the Customer Data Law is appropriately tailored to this goal,” Torres said in her ruling. “The city has not demonstrated that an incentive-based program or more fine-tuned regulation would be ineffective, and compelling delivery services to disclose customer data is incommensurate with the identified harm.”

Delivery apps consider this a major victory over New York City, which has attempted to regulate delivery apps’ operations model previously through passing delivery fee caps and new minimum wage standards for delivery drivers, both of which the third-party delivery companies have tried to fight in court.

The New York City hospitality industry, however, sees this court decision as a net loss for its operators.

 “[B]y withholding the data the [delivery services] have enormous leverage over restaurants, because restaurants can’t leave the platform because then essentially, they leave their customers, and then the [delivery services] will use that customer data to market to competitor restaurants,” Andrew Rigie, executive director of the New York City Hospitality Alliance, said during a hearing on the law.

The ruling is currently under review by the New York City law department.

Contact Joanna at [email protected]

About the Author

Joanna Fantozzi

Senior Editor

Joanna Fantozzi is a Senior Editor for Nation’s Restaurant News and Restaurant Hospitality. She has more than seven years of experience writing about the restaurant and hospitality industry. Her editorial coverage ranges from profiles of independent restaurants around the country to breaking news and insights into some of the biggest brands in food and beverage, including Starbucks, Domino’s, and Papa John’s.  

Joanna holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature and creative writing from The College of New Jersey and a master’s degree in arts and culture journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY. Prior to joining Informa’s Restaurants and Food Group in 2018, she was a freelance food, culture, and lifestyle writer, and has previously held editorial positions at Insider (formerly known as Business Insider) and The Daily Meal. Joanna’s work can also be found in The New York Times, Forbes, Vice, The New York Daily News, and Parents Magazine. 

Her areas of expertise include restaurant industry news, restaurant operator solutions and innovations, and political/cultural issues.

Joanna Fantozzi has been a moderator and event facilitator at both Informa’s MUFSO and Restaurants Rise industry events. 

Joanna Fantozzi’s experience:

Senior Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (August 2021-present)

Associate Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (July 2019-August 2021)

Assistant Editor, Informa Restaurant & Food Group (Oct. 2018-July 2019)

Freelance Food & Lifestyle Reporter (Feb. 2018-Oct. 2018)

Food & Lifestyle Reporter, Insider (June 2017-Feb. 2018)

News Editor, The Daily Meal (Jan. 2014- June 2017)

Staff Reporter, Straus News (Jan. 2013-Dec. 2013)

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