Uber executives allegedly admit its business is illegal in file leak

Uber has generally acted as a driver and delivery service that proved to be highly profitable while drivers in its gig economy struggled. The legality of employee pay, rights, protections, and benefits have often been topics of contentious discussion over the years with authorities cracking down on Uber here and there, but a recent leak of files from the company paints a bigger picture of its leadership’s mood on the matter. Quite simply, leads at Uber allegedly know their business practices are illegal and try to circumvent the rules anyways.

The Uber Files leaks were shared in a recent file dump which apparently came from former Uber lobbyist Mark MacGann, as reported on by UK outlet Tribune. The leaks include lead correspondence and communications from 2013 to 2017, including around 124,000 files and documents. Said documents include a number of troubling allegations about the company, including bending laws, working around authorities, and lobbying politicians and powerful groups, all while keeping drivers and further low-rung employees under thumb.

“Sometimes we have problems because, well, we’re just f***ing illegal,” Uber head of global communications Nairi Hourdajian shared in a 2014 message sent to a colleague.

Groups like the App Drivers & Couriers Union in the UK have fought against Uber in court, including whether or not they are classified as "self-employed."
Source: ADCU Union

Further files and communications from the Uber Files leak include leads using connections in government to appeal to Middle Eastern and European leadership to keep the company from being regulated out of existence. The company even supposedly had a “kill switch” built to remotely encrypt its computers, data bases, and servers, should the company ever raided by authorities. These are reportedly just a few of the allegations detailed in the leak.

For its part, Uber has not exactly denied the information exposed in the leak. In a statement to The Guardian, Uber spokespersons claim the leaks are indicative of a time at the company which has passed and is long gone compared to how the company operates today.

Uber is now one of the largest platforms for work in the world and an integral part of everyday life for over 100 million people. We’ve moved from an era of confrontation to one of collaboration, demonstrating a willingness to come to the table and find common ground with former opponents, including labor unions and taxi companies. We are now regulated in more than 10,000 cities around the world, working at all levels of government to improve the lives of those using our platform and the cities we serve.

We have not and will not make excuses for past behavior that is clearly not in line with our present values. 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. ~ Jill Hazelbaker, Uber senior vice-president of public affairs

Whether Uber believes the leak is relevant or not, it paints a very distinct (and undenied) picture of a company that has skirted rules and laws to grow as big as it has. It will remain to be seen if this has any implications for Uber in the future. However, as media outlets continue to share details from the leak, it would appear that Uber is set to go on defense for quite some time ahead. Stay tuned for further updates here at Shacknews as they become available.