THE UBER FILES
In Uber’s response to ICIJ’s questions, it acknowl- edged there had been “missteps” in its past that led to “an enormous amount of public scrutiny, a number of high-profile lawsuits, multiple government investi- gations, and the termination of several senior executives” in 2017, before the appointment of the current CEO Dara Khosrowshahi.
It’s not yet clear whether the new Uber Files revelations will lead to additional investigations.
HOW DID UBER USE STEALTH TECHNOLOGY LIKE THE “KILL SWITCH” TO THWART GOVERNMENT INVESTIGATORS?
HOW HAS UBER TRAVIS KALANICK RESPONDED ?
Devon Spurgeon, a spokeswoman for Travis Kalanick, said the company’s rapid expansion in its early years was powered by a team of “over a hundred leaders in dozens of countries around the world” who were overseen by Uber’s “robust legal, policy, and compli- ance groups.”
WHY DOES THE UBER FILES LEAK MATTER?
The Uber Files shows the ease with which Uber executives were able to gain access to – and with access – influence powerful democratically elected leaders. The intimate access came even as Uber was brazenly flouting local transportation laws, upending workers’ rights and trying to hobble govern- ment investigations using stealth technology and other deceptive tactics. In short, the investigation offers an X-ray into how multinational companies game the system showing how money and power can buy access and thus bend policy toward the ends of monied interests.
DID THE FILES SHOW UBER DOING ANYTHING ILLEGAL?
The reporting sheds additional light on Uber’s well-docu- mented flouting of local labour and transportation laws.
The exchanges between Uber executives in the Uber Files include frank assessments of the regulatory challenges the company’s business model faced. One executive described Uber’s approach to entering new markets as a “sh*itstorm”.
According to the documents; another wrote to a colleague “We’re just fucking illegal.”
The records also reveal Uber executives’ activation of a so- called “kill switch” to cut access to company servers and prevent authorities from seizing evidence during raids on Uber offices in at least six countries. Travis Kalanick, denied that use of the “kill switch” was improper, saying it did not permanently delete data and was used to protect intellectual property and the privacy interests of its customers.
AUGUST 2022
The Uber Files reveals that, when Uber offices were raided by authorities, company executives could remotely activate a so-called kill switch to disconnect computers from compa- ny servers and prevent authorities from seizing evidence - a tool Uber used during office raids in France, as well as Romania, Netherlands, Belgium, India and Hungary.
Uber also deployed technology that allowed it to show a fake version of the app to police or government officials who could be investigating the service; staff discussed creating “blackout geofences” around police stations in Denmark; and more.
An Uber spokeswoman told ICIJ that Uber has not used a kill switch to thwart regulatory actions since 2017.
WHAT DO THE UBER FILES SAY ABOUT UBER DRIVERS?
In every market, claims that Uber was transforming the workforce were central to the company’s pitch. But some drivers say that they were misled, that Uber lured them to its platform with financial incentives that didn’t last while sharply increasing its commission from each ride. Many of Uber’s drivers were part-time, freelance contractors ineligible for key benefits such as health care.
In many countries where Uber had rolled out rapidly, often without governmental approvals, its drivers were being threatened and attacked by riders, thieves and traditional cabbies.
The Uber Files reveal that, in some cases, Uber executives saw violence and attacks on drivers as strategic opportunities to build support for their cause.
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