The Uber Files Revealed a Corrosive System of US Lobbying
Uber is in trouble after a leak demonstrating the extent of its pay-to-play activities. But in America, you don’t need a trove of leaked texts or emails to prove the corrosive effects of lobbying. The proof is right out in the open, and Uber is hardly alone.
Uber headquarters in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images)
Many are justifiably angry about the Uber Files.
The 124,000+ secret documents — delivered to journalists by whistleblower Mark MacGann, Uber’s former chief lobbyist for Europe — show how the tech company broke laws, exploited drivers, and pressured governments to fend off regulation from 2013 to 2017. The report is damning for nearly everyone involved, including some former Barack Obama staffers and French president Emmanuel Macron, who flirted back after Uber slipped into his proverbial DMs for political favors.
The report sparked taxi driver protests in Italy, the UK, and France and calls for probes into politicians who played footsie with Uber, including Macron.
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