Uber Used Sophisticated Technology To Evade Raids By Authorities, Report Claims

Instant cab services like Uber have changed travel across the world. In just a few minutes, you could have a car taking you to a destination of your choice without any negotiation and without having to venture outside.

Now, it appears that Uber's success story may not be very straightforward. A new report alleges that the cab service used a "kill switch" during an office raid to make sure that authorities do not get access to Uber's data, and consequentially its business practices.

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Uber's kill switch

According to The Washington Post, Uber used the kill switch during a raid at its Amsterdam office in 2015. What it essentially does it block a certain office's laptops and other devices from Uber's internal systems.

At this time, Uber was no stranger to government raids. In fact, the company had curated a Dawn Raid Manual for its employees on ways to respond during a raid. Instructions included staying calm, moving the regulators into a meeting room, and never leaving regulators alone.

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Also read: Uber Eats Delivered Food In Space For Astronauts On International Space Station

The document containing such information is part of Uber Files - files amounting to 19.7 GB that were shared with The Guardian by former Uber lobbyist Mark MacGann who was the company's head of public policy for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa between 2014-2016.

The files include information from 2013 to 2017 including 83,000 emails and various presentations, messages, etc. In essence, the documents reveal how Uber used its technological prowess to evade regulation and assessment by authorities.

What else did Uber Files reveal?

Since the files went public, Uber's senior vice president Jill Hazelbaker said that they would not make excuses for their past behaviour, suggesting that their present values are not the same. Hazelbaker also urged the public to judge Uber based on their actions in the last five years and "in the years to come."

The documents reveal other serious information. Allegedly, Uber used a programmed called "Greyball" to stop authorities from hailing cars so that no vehicles may be impounded and no drivers arrested.

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Also read: Beyond Google And Uber: 15 Chinese Apps, Services That China Has Cloned Successfully

In addition, Uber may have also used "geofencing" to block the usage of its app near police stations and other spots. As discussed above, the company also used management software to break computers' access to its internal network after being raided.

What do you think about the Uber Files? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Siddiqui, F., & Menn, J. (2022, July 11). ¡®Hit the kill switch¡¯: Uber used covert tech to thwart government raids. Washington Post.

Davies, H., Goodley, S., Lawrence, F., Lewis, P., & O¡¯Carroll, L. (2022, July 11). Uber broke laws, duped police and secretly lobbied governments, leak reveals. The Guardian.