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The dangers of driving for Uber in South Africa (The 3:59, Ep. 259)

Today on the podcast, we discuss Uber hiring a security company in South Africa, plus Amazon's ban on Blu phones.

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Alfred Ng Ben Fox Rubin Dara Kerr
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Alfred Ng Senior Reporter / CNET News
Alfred Ng was a senior reporter for CNET News. He was raised in Brooklyn and previously worked on the New York Daily News's social media and breaking news teams.
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Ben Fox Rubin Former senior reporter
Ben Fox Rubin was a senior reporter for CNET News in Manhattan, reporting on Amazon, e-commerce and mobile payments. He previously worked as a reporter for The Wall Street Journal and got his start at newspapers in New York, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
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Dara Kerr Former senior reporter
Dara Kerr was a senior reporter for CNET covering the on-demand economy and tech culture. She grew up in Colorado, went to school in New York City and can never remember how to pronounce gif.
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James Martin/CNET

Being an Uber driver in South Africa comes with its perils. 

Drivers have been beaten and attacked, some even killed, by taxi drivers furious at their loss of customers. In response, Uber quietly hired a private security company with armed guards to protect its drivers, we discovered during a trip to South Africa. 

On today's podcast, we chat with Dara Kerr, who traveled to the country to find out more. She'll discuss the tensions between Uber and taxi drivers, and why the guards are only a bandage on a larger problem.

Also, we talk about Amazon suspending sales of Blu phones, the super-cheap devices that were sending personal data to servers in China without notifying customers. 

The 3:59 gives you bite-size news and analysis about the top stories of the day, brought to you by the CNET News team in New York and producer Bryan VanGelder.

Check out the extended shows on YouTube.

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