Leaked Uber Files show how it illegally expanded operations, dodged raids in India
India Today
The leaked Uber Files include 124,000 internal emails, text messages and documents from inside Uber. It allegedly highlights how the company expanded operations between 2013 and 2017.
Uber, in less than a decade, has transformed into a verb from a brand in India. Once a Silicon Valley start-up, its value today stands at $44billion with operations in 72 countries and counting.
However, its rapid expansion in several key global markets is now being credited to bypassing regulations, lobbying lawmakers, and playing around with loopholes - a leak points out. Obtained by The Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), the leaked ‘Uber Files’ reportedly include 124,000 internal emails, text messages and documents from inside Uber.
The leaked files, also assessed by The India Express, allegedly highlight the tenure of company's former CEO Travis Kalanick - who stepped down in 2017 after allegations of promoting a toxic work culture and even ignoring gender discrimination and sexual harassment at Uber. Leaked records cover the period between 2013 and 2017.
In the context of India, one such file reportedly highlights how Uber blamed India's "flawed" criminal database, instead of taking responsibility for a driver accused of raping a 25-year-old passenger in New Delhi in December 2014.
The incident seemingly caused panic within the India unit, leading Uber's communications head, Nairi Hourdajian to send an email to a colleague saying, "Remember that everything is not in your control and that sometimes we have problems because, well, we're just f***ing illegal".
It is also reported that Uber uses an internal tactic called the "kill switch" to escape raids by the government by shutting down internal software. It involves Uber officials learning about possible raids at its offices and sending instructions to IT staff to cut off access to the company's main data systems. It essentially prevents authorities from gathering evidence.
The Guardian notes that Uber deployed this tactic at least 12 times during raids in India, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Hungary and Romania. Its Bengaluru office was raided by the Regional Transport Office in 2014, and separately, another raid took place in July 2021 based on non-compliance complaints.
