If Uber thought it was off the hook for 2020 following drawn out legal proceedings in California regarding the classification of its drivers, the ridesharing platform has another issue it needs to tackle – sexual assault.

More specifically a fine related to the platform’s inability to answer questions about sexual assault involving its drivers and passengers.

The fine in question totals $59 million, and has been issued by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), which cites a Safety Report that Uber published in December 2019.

Sexual assault is an issue that has plagued the platform for some time now, and the 2019 report detailed extensively thousands of cases during 2017 and 2018, describing the data in its 84-page document as “jarring”.

While the data is extensive, the CPUC was not satisfied that Uber simply reported the numbers. This especially so as aspects of the report noted that the platform did not, “assess or take any position on whether any of the reported incidents actually occurred.”

The CPUC therefore handed Uber a number of questions that it wanted more detailed answers on, as well as a full report on each sexual assault case highlighted in the report.

The platform did not want to answer said questions or provide further data, as it argued that this would infringe on the privacy of users and drivers alike. Thankfully a judge in January of this year denied Uber’s request to avoid the questions and stated that the company could disclose additional information under a confidentiality seal.

Uber, however, has continued to fight the judge’s ruling, but that changed this week.

Said ruling has instructed Uber to answer the aforementioned questions, as well as pay the fine of $59 million within the next 30 days. For those wondering, the figure was reached by the judge by totalling up each instance when Uber refused to answer the CPUC’s questions at $7 500 a pop.

Now that the company has been legally compelled to provide more information, the ruling has also advised that it use a code when disclosing the details of cases in order to safeguard sexual assault victims.

Regardless of being acquiesced, Uber is less than pleased with the ruling, noting that it sets a dangerous precedent.

“We opposed this shocking violation of privacy, alongside many victims’ rights advocates. Now, a year later, the CPUC has changed its tune: we can provide anonymized information—yet we are also subject to a $59 million fine for not complying with the very order the CPUC has fundamentally altered,” it told The Verge in a statement.

The company added that the, “punitive and confusing actions will do nothing to improve public safety and will only create a chilling effect as other companies consider releasing their own reports. Transparency should be encouraged, not punished.”

Regardless of whether Uber chooses to fight the ruling, it is clear that sexual assault is an issue that it needs to take more seriously, both in the US and other regions where it operates.