The release of the Uber files has sparked a backlash around the world, putting pressure on senior politicians, fueling calls for a crackdown on corporate lobbying and provoking outrage from groups including traditional taxi drivers.
The fuse was ignited with the release 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, duped police, exploited violence against drivers and covertly influenced governments during its aggressive global expansion.
Uber has said that it “makes no apologies for past behavior and will not come forward that is clearly inconsistent with our current values,” and distances the modern company from its past actions.
But the political, regulatory and public response to the Uber filings is still evolving and Uber — not to mention the people who helped grow it — is being intensely targeted in some of the world’s largest economies and Uber’s key markets magnifying glass.
France
Details of how President Emmanuel Macron rushed to the aid of Uber as it campaigned for a way into France’s taxi sector have prompted calls for a parliamentary inquiry from across the political spectrum.
Opposition politicians and the left-wing CGT union have seized on reports of secret, undeclared meetings and the promise of a Macron-brokered “deal” within the government to help Uber.
One MP described the revelations as a “state scandal,” amid calls from the hard left and the far right, Macron already under intense pressure to face an official inquiry by a parliamentary committee.
Macron was defiant, saying he would “do it again tomorrow and the day after”.
Newly appointed French minister for digital affairs Jean-Noël Barrot is expected to step down from Uber-related matters, multiple sources reported, because his sister Hélène Barrot is Uber’s European communications director.
Belgium
“Private detective investigations into Brussels ministers, repeated breaches of industry regulations, data destruction, obstruction of justice, possible tax fraud, screening of companies to circumvent Brussels legislation […] are all an attack on our rule of law and our democracy. ”
Those 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 surfaced. At recent demonstrations in Naples, Milan and Rome, drivers carried banners that read “Fuck you Uber” and set off fireworks.
The Netherlands
Dutch Deputy Finance Minister Marnix van Rij wants to investigate whether the Dutch tax authorities violated international agreements when dealing with Uber.
A European Commission spokesman said the European Commission will write to Neelie Kroes, her former vice-president, after two dozen European politicians called for an investigation into proposals she had secretly helped Uber lobby Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and a number by others to make other national Dutch politicians.
Ireland
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there should be more transparency around corporate lobbying after the Uber files revealed the company unsuccessfully tried to persuade the Fine Gael-led coalition to amend taxi regulations in 2015 and 2016 loosen.
Spain
Barcelona’s left-wing Mayor Ada Colau welcomed the revelations in the Uber files, saying they served to “unmask” the company.
She told El País that the company tried to “disguise themselves as innovators and small freelancers” when in fact they were “crooks.” Yolanda Díaz, Spain’s second deputy prime minister and labor minister, said the leak was a matter of “extreme seriousness”.
Finland
In Finland, the Uber files sparked a political scandal after it was revealed that former Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb met Uber executives several times when he was Prime Minister and Finance Minister. The company campaigned to change Finland’s longstanding taxi regulations. In the end, Stubb resigned as prime minister in 2015 after losing his post as leader of the coalition party. There is no indication that Uber’s lobbying work was successful.
Europe-wide
German MEP Daniel Freund wrote to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola asking him to investigate Uber’s lobbying practices in Brussels.
European Parliament politicians had already been working on a proposal that would classify millions of gig economy workers as employees, rather than independent contractors, conferring rights such as minimum wages. Amid debate over what the final proposals should look like, the Uber files have given new impetus to left-wing factions pushing for tougher labor laws, according to a report in Politico.
India
In India, one of the locations where Uber deployed a “kill switch” to block access to company data during government raids, the law could change in response to revelations about Uber. The Indian Express reported that the government is considering new rules.
“It was pretty obvious to most people that major tech platforms have used technology to trick both the system and consumers, and evaded scrutiny by constantly overinnovating,” said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the Minister of Electronics and IT.
The unions also called for action. The Indian Federation of App-Based Transport Workers (IFAT) has filed a “public interest lawsuit” in the Supreme Court, calling for new legislation to protect gig economy workers.
United Kingdom
Most of the questionable behavior uncovered in the Uber files took place outside the UK, but Transport for London has said it is investigating claims that MacGann shared concerns about Uber in 2020 with it but was ignored.
US
Most of the revelations in the Uber files relate to Europe, but they have drawn the attention of American organizations campaigning for gig workers’ rights. Regarding concerns about driver safety, Gig Workers Rising wrote, “The story these documents reveal is appalling: Uber appears to have encouraged drivers to place themselves in dangerous situations when it benefited their bottom line.”