Thousands of leaked documents have shown Uber's extensive efforts to evade justice, including how it courted prominent politicians.
They go into depth on the substantial support that Uber received from public figures like Emmanuel Macron, as per a BBC report.
Uber's Confidential Files have Leaked
The Guardian reported that Uber broke the law, deceived the police, took advantage of violence against drivers, and surreptitiously lobbied governments as it aggressively expanded throughout the world, citing a cache of sensitive documents that have been leaked.
The unprecedented leak of more than 124,000 documents, collectively referred to as the Uber files, reveals the unethical business practices that fueled the company's development into one of Silicon Valley's most well-known exports.
The data were collected in the span of 2013 and 2017, when Travis Kalanick, a co-founder of Uber, was in charge of the company. The Guardian said that Kalanick tried to expand the cab-hailing service into as many locations as possible, even if it meant breaking the law and going against taxi regulations.
The news outlet reported that more than 83,000 emails, iMessages, and WhatsApp messages are among the data in the trove, many of which are honest and unvarnished exchanges between Kalanick and his executive team.
Emmanuel Macron Was Mentioned in the Uber Leaks
BBC reported that the 2014 launch of UberPop, a service that allowed unlicensed drivers to offer trips at significantly lower pricing, particularly infuriated French cab drivers. French taxi drivers conducted violent protests against Uber in the streets.
Although it was prohibited by the courts and the parliament, Uber continued to operate despite the restrictions.
The current president of France, Macron, was allegedly friendly with Kalanick and told the latter that he will change the law to benefit the company, although he did not think that there was a future for UberPop.
However, the protests became violent, and Uber eventually announced the suspension of UberPop in France.
"Months later Macron signed off on a decree relaxing requirements for licensing Uber drivers," BBC report reads.
The current president of France's involvement with the contentious multinational corporation that was apparently breaking French law has not been revealed until now, the news outlet added.
Kalanick Was Eventually Forced Out
Uber was one of the most contentious companies at the time, plagued by legal disputes, accusations of sexual harassment, and data breach scandals. As per BBC, when shareholders finally had enough, Kalanick was fired in 2017.
Dara Khosrowshahi, who succeeded him, was given the responsibility of "transforming every aspect of how Uber operates," according to Uber.
Uber asserts that it is a "different company" now and that its earlier conduct wasn't consistent with current ideals, BBC reported.
Executives and Staffers Have Doubts About Uber's Operations
In internal emails, employees discussed other instances of Uber actively breaking the law in nations like Turkey, South Africa, Spain, the Czech Republic, Sweden, France, Germany, and Russia, as per The Guardian.
The Guardian also cited an email from a senior executive stating: "We are not legal in many countries, we should avoid making antagonistic statements."
Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Uber claimed that when the company first began, "ridesharing regulations did not exist anywhere in the world" and that current transportation laws were outdated in respect to the smartphone era.
