Security was sparked by the publication of revelations from a trove of more than 124,000 documents about Uber from 2013 to 2017, leaked to the Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and international media. The files, leaked by whistleblower Mark MacGann, revealed how Uber flouted laws, cheated police, exploited violence against drivers and secretly lobbied governments during its aggressive global expansion. Uber has said it “has not and will not condone past behavior that is clearly inconsistent with our current values,” distancing the modern company from its past actions. But the political, regulatory and public response to Uber’s filings is still unfolding, and Uber — not to mention the people who helped build it — is coming under intense scrutiny in some of the world’s biggest economies and most important markets. Uber.
France
Details of how President Emmanuel Macron rushed to help Uber as it lobbied to enter France’s taxi sector have led to calls from across the political spectrum for a parliamentary inquiry. Opposition politicians and the left-wing CGT union seized on reports of secret unannounced meetings and the promise of a “deal” brokered by Macron within the government to help Uber. One lawmaker described the revelations as a “state scandal”, amid calls from the hard left and far right for Macron, who is already under intense pressure, to face a formal investigation by a parliamentary committee. Macron was defiant, saying he would “do it again tomorrow and the day after.” Newly appointed French digital affairs minister Jean-Noël Barrot is expected to recuse himself from Uber-related matters, multiple sources said, because his sister Hélène Barrot is Uber’s European communications director.
Belgium
“Investigations by private detectives into Brussels ministers, repeated breaches of industry regulations, destruction of data, obstruction of justice, possible tax fraud, scrutiny of companies for circumventing Brussels law […] everything is an attack on the rule of law and our democracy. “ These were the words of Ridouane Chahid, leader of the Belgian socialist party PS, who proposed a parliamentary inquiry.
Italy
Taxi drivers were already protesting plans for Uber-friendly deregulation before the leak emerged. At recent protests in Naples, Milan and Rome, drivers carried banners reading “Fuck Uber” and fireworks.
Netherlands
Dutch deputy finance minister Marnix van Rij said he wants to investigate whether Dutch tax authorities violated international agreements when dealing with Uber. A European Commission spokesman said the EC would write to Neelie Kroes, its former vice-president, after two dozen European politicians called for an investigation into suggestions she secretly helped Uber lobby Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and a number of other Dutch politicians .
Ireland
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there should be more transparency about corporate lobbying after Uber records revealed the company tried, unsuccessfully, to persuade the Fine Gael-led coalition in 2015 and 2016 to relax regulations for taxis.
Spain
The left-wing mayor of Barcelona, Anda Colau, welcomed the revelations contained in Uber’s files, saying they served to “expose” the company. He told El País that the company tried to “disguise themselves as innovators and small freelancers” when in fact they were “fraudsters”. Yolanda Díaz, Spain’s second deputy prime minister and labor minister, said the leak was a matter of “the utmost seriousness”.
Finland
In Finland, the Uber files have created a political scandal after it was revealed that former Finnish prime minister Alexander Stubb met with Uber executives several times while he was prime minister and finance minister. The company has been lobbying to change Finland’s long-standing taxi regulations. Ultimately, Stubb resigned as prime minister in 2015 after losing his position as chairman of the Coalition party. There is no indication that Uber’s lobbying was successful.
all over Europe
German MEP Daniel Freund has written to the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, asking her to investigate Uber’s lobbying practices in Brussels. Politicians in the European Parliament were already working on a proposal that would reclassify millions of gig economy workers as employees, instead of independent contractors, providing rights such as the minimum wage. Amid debate over what the final proposals should look like, the Uber filings have given new impetus to left-wing factions pushing for stronger labor laws, according to a Politico report.
India
In India, one of the locations where Uber used a “kill switch” to cut off access to the company’s data during raids by authorities, the law could change in response to the revelations about Uber. The Indian Express reported that the government is considering new rules. “It was quite obvious to most people that big tech platforms are using technology to game the system and consumers and have evaded scrutiny by constantly covering themselves with innovations,” said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister for electronics and IT. Unions have also called for action. The Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) has filed a “public interest litigation” in the high court, seeking new laws to protect gig economy workers.
United Kingdom
The majority of the questionable behavior revealed by Uber’s records took place outside the UK, but Transport for London said it was investigating claims that MacGann informed it of concerns about Uber in 2020 but was ignored.
US
Most of the revelations in Uber’s filings relate to Europe, but they have caught the attention of US groups lobbying for the rights of gig workers. Addressing concerns about driver safety, Gig Workers Rising wrote: “The story these documents reveal is horrific: Uber appears to have encouraged drivers to put themselves in dangerous situations when it benefited the bottom line.”
