Uber is said to have used dubious methods to grow internationally. Among other things, there is talk of the use of key politicians and the exploitation of violence against their own drivers. It shows documents that, among other things, the French newspaper Le Monde has gained access to. The 124,000 documents range from 2013 to 2017. During this period, Uber is said to have undermined the taxi market and pressured governments to rewrite laws in their favor. The revelations are the result of a collaboration between 42 media houses around the world. The work was coordinated by the international journalist network ICIJ. – Exploited violence against own drivers In 2016, taxi drivers across Europe held demonstrations against Uber. They feared that the American giant would endanger their livelihood. PROTEST: In 2016, demonstrations were held in Paris against Uber. Photo: ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP In Paris, then-CEO Travis Kalanick ordered Uber’s drivers to hold a counter-demonstration. Kalanick was warned that it could pose a risk to their drivers. He replied that he thought it was worth it. “Violence guarantees success,” he wrote, among other things. A taxi driver receives treatment after being injured in a demonstration outside Orly airport in Paris. Photo: Christophe Ena / AP – In some cases, when the drivers were attacked, the bosses of Uber quickly threw themselves around to take advantage of it so that they could get support from the population and from the legislators, writes Washington Post, one of the newspapers that has participated in the excavation project. Secret agreements with Macron The documents contain communication between Travis Kalanick and France’s then Minister of Trade and Industry and now President Emmanuel Macron. Messages between the bosses of Uber and Macron show that he was considered an important person behind the scenes, writes The Guardian. INVOLVED: President of France Emmanuel Macron is said to have had close contact with Uber. Photo: LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP Macron is said to have secretly helped the company and given them frequent access to himself and his staff. He told the company that he had reached an agreement with the company’s opponents in the government. The president’s office says that Macron at the time, as minister, “naturally had contact with many companies that were involved in major changes in service offerings that occurred in the years mentioned.” Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is leaving a San Francisco courtroom in 2018. Photo: Jeff Chiu / AP Used “idiot button” to remove evidence Uber is also said to have developed methods to avoid law enforcement. One was internally known at Uber as a “kill switch”, or “idiot button” When one of Uber’s offices was searched, managers in the company sent out instructions to IT employees. They were asked to cut off access to the company’s computer systems. This prevented the authorities from gathering evidence. This switch must have been used at least twelve times. France, the Netherlands, Belgium, India, Hungary and Romania are countries where it was allegedly used. Today, Uber says that this method should never have been used, and that they stopped using it in 2017. Then Kalanick resigned as CEO. Facts about Uber American company that arranges car trips to order. Established in 2009 by Garret Camp and Travis Kalanick. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. Uber describes itself as a carpooling service, where private cars are ordered for a ride, where the driver and passenger share the costs. Uber’s business has hit the taxi industry hard in a number of places. The taxi industry believes that Uber has an unfair advantage in that it does not follow the rules for registration, insurance and expenses to which the industry is subject. Uber is currently found in 70 countries, including Norway, and more than 500 cities. However, the service has been banned as a private taxi business in many places. Source: NTB Admits mistakes In a statement, Uber admits to having made mistakes. The company has changed since 2017, the statement says. Then CEO Dara Khosrowshahi took over the company. Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi speaks to the press in New Delhi, India in 2019. Photo: Anushree Fadnavis / Reuters Uber’s spokesperson also acknowledges previous mistakes in the company’s treatment of drivers. At the same time, the company says that no one, including Kalanick, wanted Uber drivers to be subjected to violence. “He has never suggested anything like that, and allegations that he has been involved in such activity are completely wrong,” the spokesman told The Guardian. Has already won Sigurd Oppegaard Nordli is a sociologist at Fafo and has researched for a long time in the Norwegian taxi market. Sociologist at Fafo, Sigurd M. Oppegaard Nordli. He believes the revelations will hardly have any consequences for Uber. – Uber has already won. The market is already very adapted to their business model, says Oppegaard to news. According to him, the American company has made deliberate steps to appear tidy. – They have changed rhetoric and style, and present the company’s past mistakes as juvenile sinners. That is also why they fired Kalanick in 2017 and appointed a new CEO, says Oppegaard.
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Leaked Uber documents reveal dubious methods – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
