NYC Council Member reacts to 7 On Your Side Investigation into sexual assaults by rideshare drivers

New York City Council Member and Chair of the Committee on Women and Gender Equity responded to an Eyewitness News investigation examining how rideshare companies handle accusations of sexual assault by drivers on their platform and called on the rideshare companies to do more to protect riders.

"They get away with so much hiding behind, 'we're just a web-based platform, we're not responsible for anything but making connections,'" Rosenthal said. "They don't take responsibility for the people who are using the site."

Her comments come as rideshare companies face a demand from Senator Richard Blumenthal to explain their practices for handling instances of sexual assault allegations following a series of lawsuits alleging the rideshare companies fail to promptly investigate allegations or make them known to law enforcement.

"The dam's going to break about what their investigation units do and what they do and how they don't cooperate with don't police," said Mike Bomberger, an attorney representing roughly 100 rideshare clients who say they were victims of a sex crime while using the platform. "I think once that stuff comes out, it's going to be devastating for the companies."

Both Lyft and Uber have unveiled several changes to expand driver background checks and increase safety features for riders in response to recent complaints.

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