Uber Files: Biden lobbied by tech giant despite illegal actions
An Uber sign is displayed inside a car in Palatine, Ill., Thursday, Feb. 10, 2022. As Uber pushed into markets around the world, the ride-sharing service lobbied political leaders to relax labor and taxi laws and used a “kill switch″ to thwart regulators and law enforcement. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
OAN NEWSROOM
UPDATED 8:38 AM PT – Tuesday, July 12, 2022
The Biden administration is embroiled in a scandal over alleged unethical lobbying practices by ride-share company Uber. The Guardian obtained more than 124,000 confidential internal documents from Uber that show the company attempted to lobby Biden and other global leaders while hiding information from law enforcement.
The leaked documents show Uber breached laws and regulations to enter the taxi market between 2013 and 2017. In addition, the company’s executives met with Biden, who was vice president at the time, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
“Joe Biden and something like a dozen of former staffers of the Obama administration, some of them quite senior, were the embrace of the Uber model, which by definition offends labor protections and labor rights was striking to me,” stated Dean Starkman, International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Uber CEO: “I’ve had my people let him know that every minute late [Biden] is, is one less minute he will have with me.”
So Uber's CEO recognizes the value of waiting time after all!
Then why not compensate drivers for P1 time? @veenadubal @nicoemoe https://t.co/A6JZ2uXW27
— John Marshall, CFA (@jmarshall_cfa) July 11, 2022
The leaked documents show Uber was also pressuring French economy minister and future French President Emmanuel Macron. The files show Uber executives knew their business practices were illegal while demanding, likely receiving, concessions from Biden, Macron and others.