Uber (UBER) become a global phenomenon at the heart of the so-called gig economy, through innovative software, reimagining how people wanted to work and changing how the world thought about transportation.
Or so we were told.
A new investigation based on the leak of internal company documents tells a far different story, however.
'A Global Influence Juggernaut'
The "Uber Files," report is a global investigation into a trove of 124,000 confidential documents from the tech company that were leaked to the Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
The report charged that the ride-sharing giant built a powerful lobbying effort, used to influence lawmakers and key policy officials, and leveraged attacks on its riders to establish sympathy with politicians.
"Uber built a global influence juggernaut – which included an impressive roster of former government officials – and held undisclosed meetings with politicians to ask for favors, including dropping probes and changing policies on workers’ rights," the consortium tweeted.
The company's approach was led by former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick.
Among the more starling revelations according to the report, Kalanick downplayed concerns about potential violence against Uber drivers by traditional taxi groups in France and in fact saw them as an opportunity to build support for Uber. Roughly 2,000 cab drivers staged an anti-Uber rally in and around Paris in 2016.
"If we have 50,000 riders they won't and can't do anything,” he said in a group chat in 2016. "Violence guarantee[s] success."
No Excuses for Bad Behavior
Kalanick, who became a billionaire while at Uber, was forced to resign in 2017 amid allegations of workplace abuse and privacy violations at the company. He cut ties with the company altogether when he stepped down from the board in 2019.
"We have not and will not make excuses for past behavior that is clearly not in line with our present values," Uber said in a statement responding to the report. "Instead, we ask the public to judge us by what we've done over the last five years and what we will do in the years to come."
The scandal has ensnared French President Emmanuel Macron, who, the report charges, went to extraordinary efforts as French economy minister under his predecessor as president, François Hollande, to help Uber lobby against the closed-shop taxi industry.
Macron failed to record at least three of four meetings with Uber’s chief executive and founder, the report said.
'A Coordinated Theft'
French opposition politicians from the left and far right seized on reports of secret undeclared meetings and the promise of a “deal” brokered by Macron inside the government to help Uber.
The scandal exploded all over social media as commenters reacted to the report's revelations.
"What the #UberFiles confirm, is that Uber’s rise is not some ‘free market’ success story," one tweet read. "It was a co-ordinated theft of our urban economies, based on exploitation + aggressive lobbying. Much of which was - in the words of Uber execs - ‘f--king illegal’."
"#UberFiles confirms what critics been saying for years," another person tweeted: "1. Uber systematically breaks the law to get its way. 2. There is a revolving door between US/EU officials & Uber, & sycophant politicians like Macron protect its interests. 3. Uber doesn't give 2 s**** about its drivers."
Still another asked: "Is there any company that achieved great success that DIDN'T resort to despicable and illegal tactics? ... I'd say it's pretty much a given that's going to be behind a substantial percentage of their success."
"Well who knew the government can be bought," another tweet read.
What's Uber's next move? Media attorney Jonathan Coad said that when a story is based on leaked documents, "there is little that can be done in terms of denial or rebuttal--I always advise against denying true stories in any event."
After that you have limited choices, Coad said, adding that "saying that this was a past failure and that you – as a company – have moved on is not a complete solution but it may be the optimum strategy here."
'Uber Will Survive This'
"Uber will survive this because of the strength of its product," he said. "It provides a service which many regard now as an essential part of their lives; inexpensive travel at any time day or night."
Tessa West, associate psychology professor at New York University, said Uber's response looks "like something any high end PR firm would craft."
"No denial--what's the point of that?," she said. "There's simply too much evidence-but some soft language around shifting their culture and priorities from one of 'Collaboration to cooperation' And some careful throwing of the past leadership under the bus."
West said the technique "is one of the oldest in the books, and no, I don't think it's convincing anyone."
"The question I think is, will anyone care enough to stop using Uber?" she said. "And I think the answer is no. Uber had a kill switch to stop authorities from investigating its business practices. Clearly they aren't operating in a gray area when it comes to business ethics."
But at the end of the day, West said, "people base their decisions on what makes life easy, comfortable, and convenient. They will sit in their Ubers while hate-tweeting about how bad Uber is."
And, she added, "as we know from the social science of moral behavior, public shaming and criticizing are rarely backed up by the private choices we make."
"In the competition between standing your moral ground and getting to your restaurant reservation on time, the restaurant will almost always win," she said.
