Thousands of leaked files have exposed how Uber defrauded top politicians and how far it went to evade justice.
They detail the extensive support Uber has received from leaders such as Emmanuel Macron and ex-EU commissioner Neeli Kroes. They also show how the former boss of the taxi firm personally ordered the use of a “kill switch” to prevent raiding police from accessing the computer.
Uber says its “past behaviour was not in line with current values” and it is a “different company” today.
In the period from 2013 to 2017, there are more than 124,000 records in Uber Files, including 83,000 emails and another 1,000 files related to conversations.
They were leaked to the Guardian and shared with several media organizations including the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and BBC Panorama. They reveal, for the first time, how a $90m-a-year lobbying and public relations effort recruited friendly politicians to help in their campaign to disrupt Europe’s taxi industry.
While French taxi drivers sometimes held violent protests in the streets against Uber, Mr Macron, now chairman, was on first-name terms with Uber’s controversial boss Travis Kalanick and told him he would reform the laws in favour of the firm.
Uber’s ruthless business methods were widely known, but for the first time ever, Files gives a unique inside view of the lengths it went to achieve its goals.
They show how one of Brussels’ top officials, ex-EU digital commissioner Nelly Krauss, was negotiating to join Uber before her term ended and then in potential breach of EU ethics rules. Secretly lobbied for the firm.
At the time, Uber was not only one of the fastest-growing companies in the world, but it was also one of the most controversial, court cases, sexual harassment allegations and data breach scandals.
Eventually, shareholders had had enough, and Travis Kalanick was ousted in 2017.
Uber says his replacement, Dara Khosrowshahi, was “tasked with transforming every aspect of how Uber operates” and has “installed the rigorous controls and compliance necessary to operate as a public company”.