{"id":216563,"date":"2022-07-18T12:00:06","date_gmt":"2022-07-18T11:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/?p=216563"},"modified":"2022-07-13T04:40:14","modified_gmt":"2022-07-13T03:40:14","slug":"the-uber-whistleblower-im-exposing-a-system-that-sold-people-a-lie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/2022\/07\/the-uber-whistleblower-im-exposing-a-system-that-sold-people-a-lie\/","title":{"rendered":"The Uber Whistleblower: I\u2019m Exposing a System That Sold People a Lie"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exclusive: Mark MacGann says he has decided to speak out about firm to \u2018right some fundamental wrongs\u2019.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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The one-time cheerleader-in-chief for Uber in Europe, Mark MacGann now looks set to become one of its sharpest critics.
Composite: David Levene\/Guardian Design\/Alamy\/Getty Images\/Reuters<\/p><\/div>\n

11 Jul 2022 – <\/em>M<\/span><\/span>ark MacGann, a career lobbyist who led Uber\u2019s efforts to win over governments across Europe, the Middle East and Africa, has come forward to identify himself as the source who leaked more than 124,000 company files to the Guardian.<\/span><\/p>\n

MacGann decided to speak out, he says, because he believes Uber knowingly flouted laws<\/a> in dozens of countries and misled people about the benefits to drivers of the company\u2019s gig-economy model.<\/p>\n

The 52-year-old acknowledges he was part of Uber\u2019s top team at the time \u2013 and is not without blame for the conduct he describes. In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, he said he was partly motivated by remorse.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am partly responsible,\u201d he said. \u201cI was the one talking to governments, I was the one pushing this with the media, I was the one telling people that they should change the rules because drivers were going to benefit and people were going to get so much economic opportunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen that turned out not to be the case \u2013 we had actually sold people a lie \u2013 how can you have a clear conscience if you don\u2019t stand up and own your contribution to how people are being treated today?\u201d<\/p>\n

The senior role MacGann held at Uber between 2014 and 2016 put him at the heart of decisions taken at the highest levels of the company during the period in which it was forcing its way into markets in violation of taxi-licensing laws. He oversaw Uber\u2019s attempts to persuade governments to change taxi regulations and create a more favourable business environment in more than 40 countries.<\/p>\n

He said the ease with which Uber penetrated the highest echelons of power in countries such as the UK, France and Russia was \u201cintoxicating\u201d but also \u201cdeeply unfair\u201d and \u201canti-democratic\u201d.<\/p>\n

Uber files whistleblower comes forward: ‘We sold people a lie’ \u2013 video:<\/strong>
\n<\/span><\/span>httpv:\/\/youtu.be\/A14Vls_Y6ck<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In his wide-ranging interview, MacGann detailed the personal journey that led him to leak the data years after leaving Uber.<\/p>\n

\u201cI regret being part of a group of people which massaged the facts to earn the trust of drivers, of consumers and of political elites,\u201d he said. \u201cI should have shown more common sense and pushed harder to stop the craziness. It is my duty to [now] speak up and help governments and parliamentarians right some fundamental wrongs. Morally, I had no choice in the matter.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Guardian led a global investigation<\/a> into the leaked Uber files, sharing the data with media organisations around the world via the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).<\/p>\n

After MacGann identified himself as the whistleblower, Uber said: \u201cWe understand that Mark has personal regrets about his years of steadfast loyalty to our previous leadership, but he is in no position to speak credibly about Uber today.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Responding to the wider investigation, Uber acknowledged<\/a> past failings but insisted the company had transformed since 2017 under the leadership of its new chief executive, Dara Khosrowshahi. \u201cWe have not and will not make excuses for past behaviour that is clearly not in line with our present values,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

The Uber files consists of confidential company data that MacGann had access to at Uber. It includes company presentations, briefing notes, security reports and tens of thousands of emails and WhatsApp, iMessage and chat exchanges between the company\u2019s most senior staff at the time.<\/p>\n

They include Travis Kalanick, Uber\u2019s combative co-founder and then chief executive, David Plouffe, a former Barack Obama campaign aide who became a senior vice-president at Uber, and Rachel Whetstone, a British PR executive who has also held senior roles at Google, Facebook and now Netflix.<\/p>\n

When MacGann departed Uber in 2016, Whetstone described him as \u201ca wonderful leader\u201d. Plouffe called him a \u201ctalented public policy professional\u201d and \u201cterrific advocate for Uber\u201d.<\/p>\n

The one-time cheerleader-in-chief for Uber in Europe, MacGann now looks set to become one of its sharpest critics.<\/p>\n