Cab-hailing service Uber broke laws, defied law enforcement, secured secret lobbying access, dodged taxes and put their drivers in jeopardy, according to news reports by a consortium of organisations published over the weekend. The reports were based on thousands of pages of communications and company records leaked from the firm. The revelations included an awareness even in its early days that its operations, including in India, would run into legal hurdles. The company launched in India in 2014, and by
Cab-hailing service Uber broke laws, defied law enforcement, secured secret lobbying access, dodged taxes and put their drivers in jeopardy, according to news reports by a consortium of organisations published over the weekend. The reports were based on thousands of pages of communications and company records leaked from the firm. The revelations included an awareness even in its early days that its operations, including in India, would run into legal hurdles. The company launched in India in 2014, and by 2016, protests and strikes by conventional taxi operators were frequent as Uber, with free and discounted rides, sought to price them out of the market. Even as it onboarded hundreds, if not thousands of drivers daily, the company resisted regulations, arguing that it was a technology company and not a taxi service.
The growth of Uber from a start-up to what it is today is best evidenced by the fact that its brand is a verb for calling a cab. Right on the heels of a smar-tphone internet revolution, the firm found itself at the right place at the right time. But from its early days, its business model played fast and loose with laws, especially when it allowed drivers to sign up with no special driving or vehicle permits or background checks. In hindsight, the scandals are unsurprising. The new revelations highlight the perils of Silicon Valley’s grow-at-all-costs value, one that has led to catchphrases such as “move fast and break things” and “don’t ask for permission, beg for forgiveness”. The Uber Files, as the new revelations are called, are a reminder for industry to be responsible and regulation to be nimble.
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