A fresh cache of stolen papers has cast a negative light on Uber’s formative years. More than 124,000 internal company documents, including more than 83,000 emails and text messages exchanged between former CEO Travis Kalanick and other executives, have been leaked and have been dubbed the “Uber Files.” These documents, which span the years 2013 and 2017, are contained in the leak. In the latter, Kalanick resigned from his position as Uber’s CEO due to growing controversy.
180 journalists at 40 outlets in 29 countries received access to the collection through The Guardian’s collaboration with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The documents reveal a business that was willing to engage in behavior that many of its own executives deemed to be “fucking illegal.”
For instance, Kalanick allegedly instructed French staff to encourage nearby Uber drivers to oppose the taxi strikes that were happening in Paris at the time in 2016. The former CEO retaliated when an executive warned Kalanick that “extreme right thugs” were taking part in the demonstration. He said, “I think it’s worth it. Violence ensures success. And these guys need to be fought off, right?
According to a former senior executive who spoke to The Guardian, Kalanick’s response was in line with the company’s international playbook and its strategy of “weaponizing” drivers.
Another group of documents describes the lengths the business took to avoid regulatory oversight. At least 12 times, Uber instructed employees at regional offices in six nations, including France, the Netherlands, and India, to use the “kill switch,” a secretive tool the business created to safeguard its data.
In one email obtained by The Washington Post, Kalanick requested that the “kill switch” be pressed immediately. He continued, “Access must be terminated in AMS,” alluding to the business’s office in Amsterdam. Authorities entered the building in two cases involving Uber’s Montreal office only to discover that all the computers and tablets had been reset at the same time. The business informed The Post that it stopped using the system in 2017 and that “such software should never have been used to thwart legitimate regulatory actions.”
In a statement released by Uber after The Guardian published its findings on the Uber Files, senior vice president of marketing and public affairs Jill Hazelbaker said, “We have not and will not make excuses for past behavior that is clearly not in line with our present values.” Instead, we urge the public to evaluate us based on our actions over the previous five years and our future plans.
Any claims that the former executive “directed, engaged in, or was involved” in “illegal or improper conduct” are “completely false,” according to a statement from Travis Kalanick provided to the ICIJ.
In actuality, they continued, “Uber’s expansion initiatives were led by more than a hundred leaders in dozens of nations around the world, and at all times under the direct oversight and with the full approval of Uber’s robust legal, policy, and compliance groups.
