Uber is looking into claims that an executive tracked a reporter with its "God View" tool without her consent, according to Buzzfeed News, as the company publicly released its data privacy policy for the first time. Johana Bhuiyan, a Buzzfeed News reporter, claimed that Josh Mohrer, the general manager of Uber New York, was waiting for her as she stepped out of her Uber car in front of the company's New York City headquarters. He reportedly told her, "I was tracking you." Corporate employees have access to something called the "God View" tool that can track any driver or user that has requested a car, two ex-Uber employees told Buzzfeed News. An Uber spokesperson told NBC News that "access to and use of data is permitted only for legitimate business purposes" and that "violations of this policy do result in disciplinary action, including the possibility of termination and legal action."

The report comes on the heels of Uber CEO Travis Kalanick apologizing on Twitter for comments made by Emil Michael, Uber's senior vice president for business, who said that Uber should hire opposition researchers to dig up dirt on reporters who write negative things about the company, as was separately reported by Buzzfeed News. Some celebrity users have chimed in on the controversy. They include John Hodgman from "The Daily Show," who said he was quitting the service, and Ashton Kutcher, an Uber investor, who defended the company on Twitter.

IN-DEPTH

SOCIAL

What is so wrong about digging up dirt on shady journalist? @pando @TechCrunch @Uber — ashton kutcher (@aplusk) November 19, 2014

I am deleting @Uber from my phone now… http://t.co/1Iut8gbS0Y — John Hodgman (@hodgman) November 18, 2014

— Keith Wagstaff