DoorDash controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2026
DoorDash warns Bay Area restaurants about being listed on Bites without consent
Issue disclosure
In August, a slew of Bay Area restaurants received an email from DoorDash warning that they may be listed without their consent on the AI-native delivery startup Bites, saying DoorDash had heard from “several partners” that were added to the third-party platform without their knowledge. The email warned restaurants they may not have agreed to Bites’ “terms, pricing structures, or service standards”, may not control the accuracy of their menu or hours on Bites, and that, depending on the state, “such practices could be illegal”; it included instructions on how to contact Bites to request removal. Bites founder and CEO Bala Subramaniam said the company heard from 14 restaurant partners who had received the letter, and Bites acknowledged that some restaurants had requested removal, saying they had been listed from old demos. A DoorDash spokesperson said “some restaurant partners raised concerns” about appearing on Bites without their consent.
Company response
Clarification — DoorDash
Spokesperson Lisa Singh told The Verge that “some restaurant partners raised concerns” about appearing on Bites without their consent.
Clarification — Bites
Bites also acknowledges some restaurants did request to be removed from the platform; the company says they were listed on Bites from old demos.
Source excerpt
DoorDash warned restaurants that they may not have agreed to Bites’ “terms, pricing structures, or service standards”
The email included instructions on how to contact Bites to request removal.
2026
Woman sues DoorDash alleging sexual assault by alcohol delivery driver and screening failures
Lawsuit filed
A woman in Jupiter, Florida, identified as Jane Doe, has sued DoorDash, alleging that a delivery driver sexually assaulted her inside her apartment on March 7 after she opened her door to present identification for an alcohol delivery. The suit also alleges that DoorDash failed to adequately screen and monitor the driver and to establish safeguards for the face-to-face ID check required by its alcohol-delivery guidelines. She seeks damages exceeding $50,000 and a jury trial. DoorDash said it takes the allegations seriously and has zero tolerance for violence on the platform, and declined to comment further given ongoing litigation.
A Jupiter, Florida woman identified as Jane Doe has sued DoorDash, alleging that a delivery driver sexually assaulted her inside her apartment on March 7 after she opened her door to present identification for an alcohol delivery, and that the company failed to adequately screen and monitor the driver or establish safeguards for the face-to-face ID check its alcohol-delivery guidelines require. She seeks damages exceeding $50,000 and a jury trial. DoorDash said it takes the allegations seriously and has zero tolerance for violence on the platform, and declined to comment further given ongoing litigation.
Stated objective. Damages exceeding $50,000 and a jury trial, plus changes to alcohol-delivery procedures to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Company response
Clarification — DoorDash
DoorDash takes these allegations seriously and has zero tolerance for violence of any kind on the platform.
Source excerpt
Mallard said she also wants changes to alcohol-delivery procedures.
The complaint alleges DoorDash failed to adequately screen and monitor the driver and establish safeguards for that face-to-face encounter.
She opened her door to present identification, and the driver entered her apartment and forced her to perform a sexual act despite her refusal, the lawsuit alleges.
2026
FTC inquiry into personalized pricing and compensation
Investigation
The Federal Trade Commission launched an inquiry into whether Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart use consumers' or workers' personal data to set prices or compensation. As part of the inquiry, the FTC ordered the companies to provide information. DoorDash was among the companies named in the inquiry.
The FTC launched an inquiry into whether Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart use consumers’ or workers’ personal data to set prices or compensation, and ordered the companies to provide information.
Stated objective. Assess whether prices or worker compensation vary based on personal data.
Company response
Denial — Instacart
does not and will not engage in surveillance pricing.
Denial — JetBlue
does not use personal information or web browsing history to set individual pricing.
Denial — Delta Air Lines
Delta also denied using personal data to individually price fares
Source excerpt
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) said it launched an inquiry into nine companies, ordering them to provide information about how they use consumers' and workers' personal data to set prices and compensation.
Federal regulators announced Wednesday that they are examining whether major airlines, ride-hailing companies, delivery services and retailers are using personal data to charge different customers different prices for the same products and services or determine how much gig workers are paid.
The orders were sent to Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, JetBlue, Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Instacart, Target and Walmart, according to the FTC.
2025
Settlement concerning tip representations
DoorDash agreed to pay approximately $17 million in a class-action settlement concerning allegations that its representations about tips misled consumers and delivery workers.
2024
California privacy enforcement
California authorities imposed a civil penalty after finding that DoorDash had illegally sold personal data and failed to comply with applicable privacy requirements.
2023
Seattle paid sick and safe time dispute
DoorDash agreed to pay drivers and the City of Seattle after authorities found that the platform made it difficult for workers to request paid sick and safe time.
2021
Unauthorized restaurant listings
Restaurants including Lona's Lil Eats alleged that DoorDash listed them without authorization and controlled how customers were routed to them. The dispute raised questions about consent, listing practices, and platform fees.
2021
Chicago lawsuit over restaurant and consumer practices
The City of Chicago sued DoorDash and Grubhub, alleging unfair and deceptive practices affecting restaurants and consumers during the pandemic. The companies disputed the claims.
2021
DoorDash sues New York City over customer-data law
Lawsuit filed
DoorDash filed a lawsuit against New York City over an ordinance that requires delivery companies to share customer data with restaurants. In its filing, DoorDash alleged that the ordinance was unconstitutional and violated customer privacy. The dispute concerns a local rule governing how delivery platforms handle customer information and make it available to restaurants.
DoorDash sued New York City over an ordinance requiring delivery companies to share customer data with restaurants. DoorDash alleged in its filing that the ordinance was unconstitutional and violated customer privacy.
Source excerpt
In an era of heightened concerns about data privacy and identity theft, this compelled disclosure is a shocking and invasive intrusion of consumers' privacy,
DoorDash filed a lawsuit Wednesday against New York City over a new law that requires delivery companies to share more customer data with their restaurants.
NEW YORK, Sept 16 — DoorDash Inc sued New York City on Wednesday over a new law requiring food delivery companies to share customer data with restaurants, saying it violates customer privacy and lets restaurants compete unfairly.
2021
Chicago files lawsuit against DoorDash over alleged deceptive practices
Lawsuit filed
The City of Chicago sued DoorDash, alleging that the food-delivery platform used deceptive practices, including listing unaffiliated restaurants without consent and misleading consumers about delivery fees. The lawsuit sought greater transparency and civil penalties.
Company response
Denial — DoorDash
In separate statements, both DoorDash and Grubhub called the lawsuits "baseless."
Denial — Grubhub
"Every single allegation is categorically wrong and we will aggressively defend our business practices," a Grubhub spokesperson said in a statement.
Source excerpt
The lawsuits were both filed Friday in Cook County Circuit Court.
The city of Chicago is suing Grubhub and DoorDash, accusing the food-delivery platforms of engaging in “predatory tactics” for years that hurt restaurants and mislead consumers.
Among other things, the city alleges Chicago-based Grubhub and DoorDash advertise order and delivery services from unaffiliated restaurants without their consent.
2020
San Francisco DA sues DoorDash over worker classification
Lawsuit filed
In a controversy involving DoorDash, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin sued the company, alleging that it illegally classified delivery workers as independent contractors and engaged in unfair labor practices. DoorDash said it would fight the action and pointed to support it had provided workers during the pandemic. The dispute centers on how delivery workers are classified and on the labor practices tied to that classification.
Company response
Denial — DoorDash
We will fight to continue providing Dashers the flexible earning opportunities they say they want in these challenging times.
Source excerpt
DoorDash is facing a lawsuit from San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin for “illegally misclassifying employees as independent contractors,” Boudin tweeted today. In the complaint, Boudin argues DoorDash misclassified its workers and in doing so, engages in unfair labor practices.
We will fight to continue providing Dashers the flexible earning opportunities they say they want in these challenging times.
DoorDash is facing a lawsuit from San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin for "illegally misclassifying employees as independent contractors," Boudin tweeted today.
2020
Lona’s Lil Eats sues DoorDash over alleged false partnership representations
Lawsuit filed
Lona’s Lil Eats filed a class-action complaint against DoorDash. The complaint alleged that DoorDash misleadingly represented the restaurant as unavailable and redirected users to partner restaurants, despite there being no partnership between the parties. The filing centered on allegations of false representations regarding a partnership and the redirection of users to other restaurants.
Source excerpt
Restaurant Lona’s Lil Eats, LLC filed a class-action complaint on Thursday in the Northern District of California against DoorDash for deceptively representing that the parties had a partnership when they did not.
In sum, the counts against DoorDash are false advertising, violation of California False Advertising Law, and violation of California Unfair Competition Law.
2020
DoorDash settles Washington, DC tipping lawsuit
Settlement
DoorDash agreed to pay $2.5 million to settle a Washington, DC lawsuit alleging it misled customers about whether tips went to delivery workers. DoorDash continued to deny the allegations and the agreement did not admit wrongdoing.
Company response
Denial — DoorDash
While DoorDash settled the lawsuit with Racine, it still denies the allegations.
Source excerpt
DoorDash agreed on Tuesday to pay $2.5 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it misled customers about its tipping policy for drivers.
While DoorDash settled the lawsuit with Racine, it still denies the allegations.
DoorDash said in the consent decree filed on Tuesday that nothing in the agreement may be construed as admission of wrongdoing or violation of any law.
2020
Great NH Restaurants sues DoorDash and Grubhub over alleged trademark infringement
Lawsuit filed
Great NH Restaurants filed suit against DoorDash and Grubhub, alleging unauthorized use of its restaurants’ logos and menus on their websites and apps. It seeks a permanent injunction and damages.
Source excerpt
Great NH Hampshire Restaurants, which owns the restaurants T-Bones, CJ’s Great West Grill, Cactus Jack’s and The Copper Door, is seeking a permanent injunction and damages, including the profits the companies made through its restaurants.
Bedford-based restaurant chain Great NH Restaurants has filed suit against digital food deliver companies Doordash and GrubHub over their unauthorized use of logos and menus on their websites an apps.
2019
Customer, courier, and merchant data breach
DoorDash disclosed that sensitive information associated with approximately 4.9 million users, delivery workers, and merchants had been accessed. A class-action lawsuit followed.
2019
Tip-withholding controversy
Critics argued that DoorDash's former pay model used customer tips to offset the company's guaranteed minimum contribution, making the effect of tips on courier earnings difficult to understand. The company revised the policy after public and legal pressure.
2019
DoorDash discloses data breach affecting users
Issue disclosure
DoorDash confirmed a data breach affecting 4.9 million users. According to the company, an unauthorized third party accessed some user data in early May, including personal information, and about 100,000 drivers' license numbers were accessed. The disclosure was reported on September 26, 2019.
Company response
Investigation — DoorDash
The company said its investigation is ongoing.
Remediation — DoorDash
DoorDash said it blocked the unauthorized user’s access, added additional protective security layers around the data, improved security protocols that govern access to systems, and brought in outside expertise.
Source excerpt
The company is informing customers affected by the breach now.
On Thursday, DoorDash announced in a blog post that an “unauthorized third party” had accessed user data of approximately 4.9 million “consumers, Dashers, and merchants.”
DoorDash said the data was accessed on May 4th, but the company did not discover the breach until sometime after it began an investigation earlier this month of “unusual activity involving a third-party service provider.”
2019
D.C. attorney general sues DoorDash over tipping practices
Lawsuit filed
D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine sued DoorDash, alleging that the company used customers' tips to subsidize guaranteed worker pay and misled customers about how tips were used. The attorney general sought recovery of millions of dollars in tips and civil penalties. DoorDash disputed the allegations and said it would respond through the legal process.
Company response
Denial — DoorDash
We strongly disagree with and are disappointed by the action taken today.
Source excerpt
Attorney General Karl Racine has accused DoorDash of pocketing workers' tips.
He said in statement that 'DoorDash misled consumers, who reasonably believed that their tips would go to workers, not the company's bottom line'.
DoorDash said accusations are without merit