Uber can keep testing self-driving cars, but lead engineer is barred from key work

The U.S. Department of Justice has begun a criminal investigation into Uber's use of a software tool that helped its drivers evade local transportation regulators, two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters. Anthony Levandowski, shown here during a briefing at a garage owned by his self-driving truck company Otto, which Uber bought in 2016. SAN FRANCISCO -- A judge has ruled that Uber can continue testing its self-driving cars, although one of its lead engineers has been officially barred from working on a part of the project that led Google's self-driving car unit to sue the ride-hailing company over stolen trade secrets. The ruling is a partial victory for Uber after the judge overseeing the lawsuit last week ordered that the case be reviewed separately by the U.S. Attorney for possible criminal charges. The suit was brought by Waymo, the new name for Google's eight-year-old autonomous car program, in February after it says it discovered that a former self-driving project employee, Anthony Levandowski, had downloaded 14,000 files shortly before quitting.