From the BBC:
The mobile taxi app Uber has been banned in Berlin by the city's State Department of Civil and Regulatory Affairs.
In a statement, the authority said it had banned the app on passenger safety grounds and threatened the firm with a 25,000 euro (£20,000) fine for ignoring the order.
Uber said it would challenge the ban. It is the latest setback for Uber, which has faced bans and protests in cities across Europe.
The Berlin authority said passengers may not be covered by insurance because they aren't traditional cabs.
If they are worried about the possibility of uninsured drivers etc, then surely they would have to ban cars completely? That's the only way I can see.
Whether there should be a rule that people who drive other people round for money have to take out a particular kind of insurance is a completely different debate to the debate as to what marketing/communication channels such people can use, surely?