Uber lobbied top politicians and used ‘stealth tech’ to block scrutiny – report

The report found Uber used a 'kill switch' that cut access to Uber servers and blocked authorities from grabbing evidence during raids in at least six countries

Uber spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker acknowledged “mistakes” in the past and said chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi, hired in 2017, had been “tasked with transforming every aspect of how Uber operates." Picture: Laura Dale/PA Wire

As Uber aggressively pushed into markets around the world, the ride-sharing service lobbied political leaders to relax labour and taxi laws, used a “kill switch” to thwart regulators and law enforcement, channelled money through Bermuda and other tax havens and considered portraying violence against its drivers as a way to gain public sympathy, according to a newly released report.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a nonprofit network of investigative reporters, scoured internal Uber texts, emails, invoices and other documents to deliver what it called “an unprecedented look into the ways Uber defied taxi laws and upended workers’ rights”.