Lobbyist Mark MacGann emerged on Monday as a whistleblower who leaked thousands of compromising documents about US ride-hailing company Uber to Britain’s The Guardian newspaper.
MacGann led Uber’s lobbying efforts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East between 2014 and 2016. He told the British daily that he decided to speak out because he believes Uber has broken laws in dozens of countries and misled people about the company’s business model.
“I was the one who spoke to governments, I was the one who pushed this with the media, I was the one who told people that they should change the rules because drivers would benefit and people so would get a lot of economic opportunities,” the 52-year-old said in an interview with The Guardian.
“When it turned out that wasn’t the case – we had actually been selling people a lie – how can you have a clear conscience if you don’t stand up and do your part in how people are treated today?”
Uber, which has become a symbol of the “gig economy” of odd jobs enabled by tech giants, has since Sunday revealed the mechanics of its rapid expansion after a vast trove of documents was leaked.
Journalists who were provided with the sensitive information accuse the company of “breaking the law” and using aggressive tactics to assert itself against the opposition of politicians and taxi companies.
Uber said MacGann is “not in a position to speak credibly about the company right now.”
The company added that it was “remarkable” that MacGann only blew the whistle after receiving €585,000 ($588,000) following a lawsuit over a bonus owed him by Uber.
The Guardian shared about 124,000 documents with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) from 2013 to 2017, including emails and messages from then-Uber executives, as well as presentations, notes and invoices.
On Sunday, several news organizations including the Washington Post, Le Monde and the BBC published their first articles from the Uber files.
Uber has denied all allegations against it, including obstructing justice, and said it has changed since the departure of former boss Travis Kalanick, who was accused of creating a toxic work culture.
– “Deeply unfair” –
The company has been embroiled in scandals involving harassment, piracy, industrial espionage and litigation since its inception in 2010.
Le Monde specifically focused on the ties between Uber and French President Emmanuel Macron, who is accused of brokering a “secret deal” with the company on regulation when he was economy minister between 2014 and 2016.
Macron is said to have held undeclared meetings with Uber executives and helped the company solidify its position in France at a time when it was turning the traditional taxi market on its head.
Irish-born MacGann told The Guardian that the ease with which Uber gained access to the powerful in countries like Britain, France and Russia was “intoxicating” but also “deeply unfair” and “anti-democratic”.
MacGann has also accused Uber of pursuing a confrontational strategy towards the taxi industry under Kalanick that exposed him personally in France and Spain.
He said he received death threats and Uber provided him with a bodyguard, adding that the experience had implications for his mental health and contributed to his diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.
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