‘Hit the kill switch’: Uber used covert tech to thwart government raids

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/07/10/uber-europe-raids-kill-switch/

3 14 4 years ago

Non paywalled link: https://archive.ph/pwXKm

tomohawk2• 4 years ago

During this era ... government raids occurred with such frequency that the company distributed a Dawn Raid Manual to employees on how to respond

Doesn't sound like they broke the law. This seems like the corp equivalent of refusing to answer a police officers questions without counsel present.

stop502• 4 years ago

This sound more like obstruction: "I would give them access to the computer but in the background we cut access"

tomohawk2• 4 years ago

Do authorities in Amsterdam have a legal authority to access Uber information that may not be in country? It sounds like Uber was cutting off such access unless / until such legal authority could be made clear to corporate officers.

A police officer can ask you any question they want, but you'd be a fool to answer without legal counsel present.

salawat• 4 years ago

Greyball crosses the line. Period. End of story. That that was tolerated is just jaw dropping to me. Who even implemented such a thing, and walked away with the most astonishing case of lack of foresight as I have seen in all my years?

stevenalowe4• 4 years ago

“In the period covered in the documents, Uber was embarking on an aggressive expansion in countries such as Spain, France, the Netherlands and Belgium — many of which outlawed paid transport in private personal vehicles. Regulators barged in, conducting raid after raid, in an effort to prove Uber was flouting the law, while police conducted stings to catch drivers in the act.”

emphasis mine. I can give you a ride to the airport but you can’t pay me for gas or time.

eesmith4• 4 years ago

"paid transport" here refers to carpooling for profit. Paying gas money and time for a one-time or occasional ride to the airport doesn't result in profit [1] nor make the driver a chauffeur.

[1] There's also maintenance, depreciation, insurance, registration/license fees, and likely more.

stevenalowe4• 4 years ago

perhaps, but it appears (given the Regulators behavior) that the burden would be on me to prove that I didn't "profit" (or intend to profit), and they could also come after you the passenger for violating the taxi-monopoly-laws.

The problem isn't Uber, it's the laws.

‘Hit the kill switch’: Uber used covert tech to thwart government raids

Related Stories