Uber lobbied politicians, broke laws in global push: investigation

Leaked cache of confidential files illustrates ethically dubious tactics Uber used to fuel its frenetic global expansion

The documents were shared with the non-profit International Consortium of Investigative Journalists

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Uber’s aggressive tactics as it took on the taxi industry have been reported on for years. Photo: Reuters

Published: 11:11am, 11 Jul 2022

Uber attempted to lobby politicians and flouted laws as part of efforts to expand globally from 2013 to 2017, according to newspaper reports based on leaked documents.

The company allegedly received assistance in its efforts from politicians including French President Emmanuel Macron, reports from outlets including The Guardian and Le Monde said.

The so-called “Uber Files” – based on more than 124,000 documents shared with the non-profit International Consortium of Investigative Journalists- cover a period of time when co-founder Travis Kalanick was chief executive officer and detail the lengths to which the company sought to expand into key cities like Paris.

In a statement released shortly after the reports were published, Uber didn’t deny any of the allegations and instead focused on the changes that have been made since Dara Khosrowshahi was named CEO in 2017.

“There has been no shortage of reporting on Uber’s mistakes prior to 2017,” the San Francisco-based company said in a statement. “Thousands of stories have been published, multiple books have been written – there’s even been a TV series.”

Uber said that Khosrowshahi has transformed the company, making safety a top priority.