The data, including emails, presentations, briefings, text messages and charts, was leaked to Britain’s The Guardian, which shared it with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). They were made available to other partner media as part of a transnational research project. In Austria, “profil” and ORF were involved.
Initially, Uber encountered massive resistance and legal hurdles in European countries. According to the documents, the group estimated a lobby budget of 90 million euros in 2016 alone to clear them up.
How Uber conquered the cities
Research by international journalists reveals that the ride-hailing service provider Uber – started in the USA – wanted to conquer the European market quickly and did so with the help of influential lobbying companies, close contacts with the responsible politicians and a great deal of money.
Macron watched it ‘in person’
An exchange of text messages reportedly suggests that current French President Emmanuel Macron, when he was Economy Minister at the time, opposed an overly critical decree by a French police prefect in 2015 at the company’s request. “I will look at the matter personally,” wrote Macron following the research – following which the regulation was relaxed the same evening.
Uber’s market entry in France caused major protests among taxi operators at the time. The competition and consumer protection authority DGCCRF, which is critical of Uber, is said to have worked on Macron. And according to published chat logs, Macron was also in lively direct contact with Travis Kalanick, one of the founders and then boss of Uber.
Meeting with Biden and Netanyahu in Davos
According to the research, the fact that then US Vice President Joe Biden praised companies like Uber in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2016 was due to a conversation with Kalanick shortly before. The Uber boss was displeased that Biden was late: “I let my people know to him that every minute he’s late is a minute less he’ll have with me,” he wrote to a colleague text message.
Also in Davos, Kalanick met with then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to the files. From his side, it should be regarding investments in research, but: At that time, Uber was still banned in Israel. So Kalanick pushed for a corresponding liberalization of the market. According to media reports, Netanyahu then approached his transport minister regarding an Uber approval, which, according to the media, ended in a dispute. Uber was approved in Israel in 2017, but was stopped by a court following a few months. A fresh start happened these days.
From the EU Commission on Uber
At the EU level, Uber secured the support of EU Commissioner for Digital Affairs Neelie Kroes, according to the report. After leaving Brussels in 2014 and following an 18-month cooling-off phase imposed by the Commission, the Dutchwoman took on a well-paid consultant job at the US company.
However, documents from the data leak suggest that there was contact between Kroes and Uber before that in connection with a police raid on Uber in Amsterdam in March 2015. The company was therefore very keen to keep it secret. According to the media, there is a risk that a debate regarding “the political revolving door and favoritism” might ignite at Kroes. The files suggest that Kroes should get members of the Dutch government to put authorities in their place in investigations into Uber in Amsterdam. Kroes denies ICIJ that he worked informally for Uber during the cooling-off phase.
Data blocked during raids
It is particularly explosive that Uber apparently often uses a so-called kill switch to separate local computers from Uber servers during raids. According to the documents, this technology was used in 2014 and 2015 in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Romania, Hungary and also in India. According to the files, there were precise instructions on how to proceed with house searches. Several requests to disconnect the computers (“Please kill access now.”) are documented. There were also instructions to the officials: “Try a few laptops, act surprised if you can’t get access, say the IT team is in San Francisco and is fast asleep.” The answer: “Oh yes, we have used the playbook so many times that now the hardest part is keeping looking surprised!”
Uber wants nothing to do with the past
The then Uber boss Kalanick left the company in the summer of 2017 following a number of scandals. In particular, a long list of cases of sexual harassment at Uber headquarters was his undoing. Kalanick was accused of not doing anything despite being aware of a number of incidents and, on the contrary, of having promoted this “culture”. Today, Uber emphasizes that it no longer has anything to do with the machinations – including in terms of lobbying. His successor, Dara Khosrowshahi, has been “charged with transforming every aspect of how Uber works,” according to the company, and has “instituted the strict controls and compliance necessary to operate as a public company.”
