Leaked files containing thousands of documents have revealed how Uber sought out top politicians and how it tried to avoid justice.
These documents detail the immense help Uber received from leaders like Emmanuel Macron and Neelie Kroes, an ex-EU commissioner.
They also reveal how the former boss of the taxi company ordered the use a "kill switch", to stop raiding police officers from accessing computers.
Uber claims its "past behavior was not in line with current values" and that it is now a "different company".
Uber Files contains more than 124,000 records. These include 83,000 emails and 1000 other files that involve conversations. They span the period 2013-2017.
These documents were published by the Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalismists as well as a variety of media organizations, including BBC Panorama. They are the first to show how a $90m-a year lobbying and public relations effort recruited friends to aid in its campaign to disrupt Europe’s taxi industry.
French taxi drivers protested against Uber in violent ways, but Mr Macron, now President, was on first names terms with Travis Kalanick (controversial boss of Uber) and said he would reform laws to support the company's interests.
Uber's brutal business practices were well-known, but the files provide a rare inside look at the company's efforts to achieve its goals.
These documents show that Neelie Kroes (ex-EU digital commissioner) was in discussions to join Uber just before her term expired. She then secretly lobby for the firm in possible violation of EU ethics rules.
Uber was not only one of the fastest-growing companies in the world at the time; it was also one of the most controversial. It was plagued by court cases, sexual harassment allegations, and data breaches scandals.
In 2017, Travis Kalanick was fired by shareholders.
Uber claims Dara Khosrowshahi was his replacement and "asked to transform every aspect of Uber's operations" and "set up the strict controls and compliance necessary for operating as a public company."
Uber's European debut was held in Paris. It met with stiff resistance from taxi companies, which culminated in violent protests on the streets.
A former banker and ambitious Emmanuel Macron was appointed minister for economy in August 2014. He saw Uber as a source for growth and desperately needed new jobs and was eager to help.
He met with Mr Kalanick, along with other executives and lobbyists in October. This marked the beginning of a long, but not well-publicized, stint as a champion for the firm's interests within the government.
Mark MacGann, Uber lobbyist, described the meeting to be "spectacular." The files are amazing. He added, "We will dance soon."
"Emmanuel" met "Travis" soon after they became first names. They also met at least four other times, according to the files - in Paris and at the World Economic Forum conference held in Davos (Switzerland). It has not been reported that the Davos meeting was ever held.
Uber wrote Mr Macron at one point, saying that it was "extremely thankful". "The openness we receive and the welcome we are given is unheard of in government-industry relations."
UberPop was launched in 2014, allowing unlicensed drivers to offer rides at lower rates. This angered a lot of taxi drivers in France.
It was banned by parliament and courts, but Uber continued to operate the service despite being challenged by the law.
While Mr Macron did not believe UberPop had a future, he was open to working with UberPop to reform France's laws that govern its other services.
Uber will outline a regulatory framework to ridesharing. We will link our respective teams in order to begin working on a feasible proposition that could become the formal framework for ridesharing in France," reads Travis Kalanick's email to Mr Macron.
The protests escalated on 25 June 2015. Mr Macron sent Mr Kalanick a text message a week later with an apparent offer to help.
"[I]ll gather everyone next week to prepare and correct the law reform."
Uber also announced that UberPop was being suspended in France on the same day.
Months later, Mr Macron signed off on a decree easing licensing requirements for Uber drivers.
It is not known how much the current president of France has been involved with the controversial global company that was operating in contravention of French law.
In an email, a spokesperson for Mr Macron stated that Macron's functions led him to interact with many companies involved in the sharp shift in the service sector over the years. This had to be made possible by removing regulatory and administrative hurdles.
These files also show how Uber's relationship to Neelie Kroes (Vice-President of the European Commission), began earlier than expected and went deeper than was previously known. This puts her in a possible breach of rules that govern commissioners' conduct.
She revealed that she had been in discussions to join Uber's advisory boards before she left her last European job in November 2014.
EU regulations state that commissioners must observe a "cooling off" period of 18 months during which new jobs will require approval from the commission.
Ms. Kroes was a Commissioner and oversaw digital and competition policies. She was also a prominent scourge of tech and played a major role in slapping massive fines on Intel and Microsoft.
Uber was the most controversial of all the companies she could've worked for after leaving.
The UberPop ridesharing company had caused legal and political problems in her country of origin, the Netherlands.
Uber drivers were detained in October 2014. A judge in Hague banned UberPop in December 2014 and threatened fines of up to 100,000 Euros. The Dutch police raided Uber's Amsterdam office in March 2015.
Emails claim that Ms Kroes called ministers to get them to back off during the raid.
A staff email warned employees not to talk about her informal relationship outside of the workplace. "Her reputation, and our ability to find solutions in the Netherlands would be affected by any casual banter within or outside the office," it stated.
According to the files, Ms Kroes was asked by the company to send messages to Mark Rutte, the Dutch Prime Minister.
An email was sent to Neelie and the Chief of Staff of the PM in October 2015. It stated that they would get backchanneling going to maximize their advantage by 'giving them' the idea of a victory.
She wrote to the Ad Hoc Ethical Committee of the commission asking permission to join Uber's advisory committee before the 18-month period was up. Jean-Claude Juncker accepted her appeal.
Although the request was denied, documents show that Ms Kroes continued to assist the company informally up until her appointment, which was announced shortly after the cooling off period.
This demonstrates that Ms Kroes was in "clear violation" of the rules, according to Alberto Allemanno (Jean Monnet professor of European Union Law at HEC Paris).
He said to BBC Panorama, "You are proving that you are doing something that you aren't allowed to do." "Because she didn't necessarily request permission, you might still argue that there was a gray area. It's not there anymore.
After reviewing all the information about Ms Kroes' relationship to Uber, he stated: "It makes my system feel probably not fit for purpose since this situation should have been avoided."
Ms. Kroes denied that she held any "formal or informally" role at Uber before May 2016, when the cooling off period ended.
As an EU Commissioner, she said that she had interacted with many technology companies and was always driven by the public interest.
During the cooling-off period, the Dutch government appointed her as special envoy to start-ups. This involved interactions with "a wide array of government, business and non-governmental entities", with the goal of encouraging a "business-friendly, welcoming ecosystem in the Netherlands".
A spokesperson for the Dutch ministry economic affairs stated that Uber was not considered a startup in 2015.
Uber claims Ms. Kroes has left the advisory board in 2018 and that it has since established new guidelines to "enhance oversight" of lobbying and external engagements with European policymakers.
Uber's second line of defense was the "kill switch", which prevented law enforcement from accessing the company's computers.
This would limit the access of officers to sensitive company data such as driver lists, which would be detrimental to company growth.
These files confirm previous news reports on the kill switch and show that Kalanick activated it at least once.
"Please press the kill button immediately. "Access must be closed in AMS [Amsterdam]," a message from his account states.
The kill switch was used in Canada and Belgium as well as in India, Romania, Hungary, Romania, and Hungary. It was also used at least three times in France.
Uber claims that it has not had a "kill switch" to stop regulatory inquiries from any part of the world since its new chief executive took office in 2017.
A spokesperson for Mr Kalanick stated that he never authorized any actions or programs that would obstruct justice. Any accusation that he did so is false. He stated that Uber used tools to protect intellectual property and privacy of customers and that these fail-safe protocols don't delete any data or information and were approved and approved by Uber legal and regulatory departments.
The Uber Files contains 124,000 records, including emails and text messages. They expose conversations and meetings between Uber executives as well as public officials during Uber's technology-driven taxi company's quest to expand its business. The Guardian received the files after they were leaked to them. They were shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalismists in Washington DC as well as media partners in 29 other countries, including Panorama by the BBC.
Ben King provides additional reporting
