Ride-sharing service lobbied political leaders to relax laws and used “kill switch” to thwart law enforcement
Ride-sharing service lobbied political leaders to relax laws and used “kill switch” to thwart law enforcement
As Uber pushed aggressively into markets around the world, the ride-sharing service lobbied political leaders to relax labor and taxi laws, using a “kill switch” to thwart regulators and law enforcement. Kia, pumped money through Bermuda and other tax havens and considered depicting violence against its drivers as a way to gain public sympathy, according to a report released on Sunday.
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The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a non-profit network of investigative journalists, scrutinized internal Uber texts, emails, invoices and other documents, in what it called “an unprecedented look at the ways Uber violates taxi laws and employee rights”. .
The documents were previously leaked to the British newspaper The Guardian, which shared them with the consortium.
in a written statement. Uber spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker acknowledged “mistakes” in the past and said that 2017-appointed CEO Dara Khosrowshahi was tasked with “changing every aspect of Uber’s operations … company, here’s what we mean literally: 90% of Uber’s current employees joined after Dara became CEO.
Founded in 2009, Uber sought to bypass taxi regulations and offer affordable transportation through ride-sharing apps. The Uber files of the consortium revealed the extraordinary lengths the company has taken to establish itself in nearly 30 countries.
The company’s lobbyists – including former aides to President Barack Obama – pressured government officials to drop their investigations, rewrite labor and taxi laws and relax background checks on drivers, the papers show.
Investigation found that Uber used “stealth” technology“To stop the government investigation. For example, the company used a “kill switch,” which cut access to Uber servers and prevented authorities from grabbing evidence during raids in at least six countries. During a police raid in Amsterdam, UberFiles reported, former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick personally issued an order: “Please press the kill switch as soon as possible… access to AMS (Amsterdam) must be closed.” ‘
The consortium also reported that Kalanick saw the threat of violence against Uber drivers in France by victimized taxi drivers as a way to gain public support. “Violence guarantees (success) success,” Kalanick texted colleagues.
In response to the consortium, Kalanick’s spokesman Devon Spurgeon said the former CEO “never suggested that Uber should take advantage of violence at the expense of driver safety.”
The Uber files say the company cut its tax bill by millions of dollars by sending profits through Bermuda and other tax havens, then “seeking to divert attention from its tax liabilities by helping executives collect taxes from their drivers.” “