Hundreds of leaked files have exposed how Uber bribed top politicians, avoided checks and how far it went to evade justice. They detail how Uber received help from leaders such as Emmanuel Macron and former EU Commissioner Neelie Kroes. But criminal cases also happened in Belgium that have never seen the light of day until now. The Uber Files are a collection of more than 124,000 documents and were leaked by the British newspaper The Guardian.
The files cover 40 countries and span the period from 2013 to 2017. This is the period in which Uber grew from a brave startup to a global behemoth. The more than 124,000 internal Uber files expose the ethically questionable practices the company used to push into new markets. Often there were laws or regulations that made their activities illegal, but they began to lobby aggressively to get what they want.
As economy minister, Emmanuel Macron went to extraordinary lengths to support Uber. He even told the company that he had struck a “deal” with his opponents in the French cabinet. Despite many protests from taxi drivers and the illegal basis, Uber managed to continue to operate their services through their network.
In addition, top Uber executives ordered the use of an “emergency button” to prevent police and regulators from accessing sensitive data during raids on Uber’s offices. Two of Barack Obama’s top advisers to the presidential campaign, David Plouffe and Jim Messina, helped Uber access leaders, officials and diplomats.
Former Vice-President of the European Commission, Neelie Kroes, also secretly lobbied for the American tech company Uber in 2015 and 2016, even after the European Commission explicitly banned her from taking a position at the company. Kroes approached government officials, top officials, and Prime Minister Mark Rutte on behalf of Uber. The billion-dollar company wanted to influence taxi legislation and a criminal investigation into Uber through Kroes.
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