Lyft riders Candice Poon, Cara Dick and Kevin Cocks blast the company after they were among users told to change their legal names because they ‘do not align with community guidelines’
- The rideshare app sent a notification to some users, giving them 48 hours to make changes to their names
- The Lyft users took to Twitter to blast the company for the message – saying they were offended that they were asked to alter their legal monikers
- Lyft has now offered an apology, saying it was trying to target users who were being deliberately provocative and offensive
- ‘In trying to fix the problem, we cast too wide of a net,’ a company spokesperson told Business Insider
Several Lyft users have slammed the rideshare company after receiving a notification that told them their names do not ‘align with Community Guidelines’.
Dozens of riders, including Candice Poon, Cara Dick and Mike Finger, were sent the message on Thursday. The message included a 48-hour deadline to change their names within the app.
The irate users took to Twitter to share screenshots of the message, which read: ‘As part of Lyft’s guidelines, we require all members of the Lyft community to be respectful to create a comfortable ride for all. We’re asking you to update your display name by 12/21.’
Candice Poon blasted the company, writing: ‘Community guidelines are great and all, but it’s ironic asking us for respect in the community when you flagged my REAL last name as a violation’.
Candice Poon (pictured) was among the dozens of Lyft users sent messages from the company on Thursday ordering them to change their names
Candice Poon blasted the company, writing: ‘Community guidelines are great and all, but it’s ironic asking us for respect in the community when you flagged my REAL last name as a violation
Nicole Cumming and Kevin Cocks also blasted Lyft after receiving the message
She continued: ‘I don’t need corporate affirmation that my last name is valid but I would like some product/eng explanation on why this was allowed in the first place and steps to prevent it in the future.’
‘The effect to me this time was innocuous but I will once echo again the need for diversity on technology product teams. When the decision to put names through a censor, wasn’t there anyone who realized that names are culturally, incredibly diverse?!’
Meanwhile, a user by the name of Nicole Cumming also shared the screenshot and added: ‘I’m not thrilled with my name either, but I had no idea it violated Community Guidelines.’
Elsewhere, Mike Finger told the Lyft to get their mind ‘out of the gutter’.
Dick DeBartolo and Kevin Cocks also spoke out on social media.
Users blasted the company on Twitter after they received the email ordering them to change their names
Lyft was quick to respond their complaints.
Poon shared a reply from the company, which read in part: ‘Thank you for bringing this to our attention, and I’m so sorry you received this email from us.
This message was sent in error – we were trying to improve our systems to create a safe and respectful community and we missed the mark here. Rest assured, your name does not violate our Community Guidelines, and we’re sorry that we sent you an email that communicated otherwise’.
The company further told Business Insider: ‘Some members of the Lyft community were using names that were either inaccurate, offensive, or both. In trying to fix the problem, we cast too wide of a net. We were well-intentioned, but our response clearly led to errors that we are working to correct, and we apologize.”
Lyft explained that some users were using inaccurate or offensive names, and in trying to fix the problem, it cast the net too wide