Uber’s Latest Shenanigans
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), in conjunction with a number of worldwide publications, jointly released an ICIJ investigation, “The Uber Files” which detailed the back room deals and access enjoyed by the company as it went about its “chaotic global expansion.” The source of the Uber Files has been identified as Mark MacGann, a former Uber lobbyist for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and who was responsible for government relations in more than 40 countries. He served in this position from 2014 to 2016.
The key findings according to the ICIJ investigation were:
- The Uber Files investigation reveals how the company won access to political leaders, often in secret, duped investigators, upended workers’ rights and tried to hobble government probes as it barged into new markets in the face of fierce resistance.
- Leaked records reveal that Uber executives activated a so-called “kill switch” to cut access to company servers and prevent authorities from seizing evidence during raids on Uber offices in at least six countries.
- Uber made deals with oligarchs in a failed bid to enter the Russian market, with Kremlin support.
- Uber executives discussed the public relations benefits of violence against its drivers as it tackled resistance to its expansion.
- The ride-hailing giant sought to deflect attention from its tax liabilities by helping authorities collect taxes from its drivers while routing profits through Bermuda and other tax havens.
The Kill Switch
While four of these five key points dealt with political maneuvering and worker’s rights and interaction, the creation of the kill switch to prevent government authorities from seizing evidence of wrongdoing was skullduggery at its finest. The capability enabled Uber to “cut access to company servers and prevent authorities from seizing evidence during raids.” The report noted that the kill switch was used in more than six countries. Former Uber CEO Travis Kalanick argued that the kill switch was not nefarious, instead choosing to split hairs and characterize the capability as a security feature, saying that the [kill switch] did not permanently delete data and was used to protect intellectual property and the privacy interests of its customers.
What these revelations mean is that baked into the infrastructure of Uber was the capability to render data inaccessible in the event of government inspection. Taking Kalanick at his word, it seems the kill switch was used to render data inaccessible in the event of government desire to inspect.
IP Theft
It is important to note that, during the period of time when Kalanick was at the helm of Uber, the company was involved in a legal battle with Waymo (an Alphabet company) involving the theft of intellectual property by Anthony Levandowski, who was eventually found guilty in a federal court and sentenced to 18 months in prison for IP theft in August 2020. He was subsequently pardoned by then-president Trump. Following Kalanick’s departure, Uber settled with Waymo and ended up paying Waymo $245 million in stock as part of the company’s settlement over Levandowski’s trade secret theft.
Data Breaches
At the same time, the company suffered a number of data breaches in 2015 and 2016, which resulted in Uber’s former CSO facing a five-felony count indictment. The court documents allege the CSO “engaged in a scheme designed to ensure that the data breach did not become public knowledge, was concealed, and was not disclosed to the FTC and to impacted users and drivers.” Which, to the trained eye, is remarkably consistent with the type of behavior outlined in the ICIJ report.
Has Uber Turned a Corner?
The ICIJ report is damning. It also references historical activities that occurred under the leadership of a CEO who, per supra, was accused of being complicit in the theft of trade secrets relating to key technologies. But that was then and this is now. Perhaps spending the last couple of years under the guiding hand of Dara Khosrowshahi will ensure Uber changed its ways. One such indication: In 2022, Uber and Waymo teamed up in the self-driving truck arena and entered into a “long-term strategic partnership.”
