A massive leak of some 124,000 confidential Uber business records expose the San Francisco firm’s shady business practices as it fought to take over the global taxi industry.
The leaked documents, dubbed the “Uber Files” and spanning 2013 to 2017, show how Uber lobbied top politicians, such as France’s Emmanuel Macron, and how far it went to avoid justice.
Since 2016, Uber has seen its monthly average users leap from 19 million to 115 million in the first quarter of 2022.
Likewise, its revenue from ride-hailing operations increased from $3 billion in 2016 to $10.7 billion in 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic slammed revenue down to $6.1 billion in 2020. 2021 saw a return to growth with revenue of $7 billion.
In response to the leak, the company says its “past behavior wasn’t in line with present values” and that it’s a “different company” today.
