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#DeleteUber: Company Faces Criticism on Twitter for its Trump Connection

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has been chastised for agreeing to sit on an advisory panel for the President.

*Editor's note: According to multiple reports on Feb. 2, 2017, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick announced via email to his staff that he was leaving Trump's business advisory council.   

(TNS) -- Ride-sharing company Uber is facing harsh criticism online for its CEO’s relationship with President Donald Trump.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick has been chastised for agreeing to sit on an advisory panel for the President. After the Trump administration imposed a temporary travel ban on seven countries that have a majority of Muslim citizens, #DeleteUber started to trend on Twitter.

Kalanick responded by publishing a series of posts about Uber’s values, and said the company employed drivers impacted by “President Trump’s unjust immigration ban.”

Drivers who are citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen and live in the US but have left the country, will not be able to return for 90 days,” Kalanick wrote in a post on Sunday. “This means they won’t be able to earn money and support their families during this period.”

Uber’s competition, Lyft, also announced it would donate $1 million in the next four years to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), which was responsible for securing an emergency order that temporarily bars the country form deporting people impacted by the travel ban.

“Banning people of a particular faith or creed, race or identity, sexuality or ethnicity, from entering the U.S. is antithetical to both Lyft’s and our nation’s core values,” Lyft officials wrote in a statement. “We stand firmly against these actions, and will not be silent on issues that threaten the values of our community.”

Both Uber and Lyft have a presence in the Dayton region, and started operating at the Dayton International Airport in December. Uber brought in more than $1.5 billion in revenue in 2015.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

©2017 the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.