The smart new world of services is a fine thing. The automated processes make the supplier-customer relationship incredibly transparent. Where is my package now? In what second is the price debited? And on which corner is the chauffeur booked online? Where a few years ago you were still waiting in line at the local taxi monopoly and later stared at the taximeter in fear to see if you would have enough money, today new chauffeur services offer a click-through view: customers immediately know the name and car number of the person collecting them, their driver Degree of friendliness (one to five stars friendly), sees the route and the remaining minutes until pickup and also knows exactly what the whole thing will cost – including tip. The person who collects the guest, however, receives the destination, the name and even the cell phone number of the guest in advance. A business at eye level: I know what you want, so I’ll tell you what I’m offering. The taxi drivers have taken over a lot of that, they’re not stupid.
On another level, however, there can be no talk of such transparency. The current international research on the Uber Files – a bundle of documents from the inside of the US transport service provider Uber – shows what the new digital competition has saved from the old analogue world: the art of lobbying. Gun lobby, automobile lobby, pharmaceutical lobby, taxi lobby (!) – there are plenty of role models for sophisticated techniques to discreetly create the political framework conditions for the greatest possible turnover. The Uber Files teach: The new ones can do it too.
Of course, the corporations here have no interest in publicity
Lobbying is not a bad thing per se. It can definitely make sense for those interest groups whose industry conditions are significantly influenced by a new law to contribute their expertise. Ask someone who knows about it: Who wouldn’t know that this is actually a good idea. The problem is that you still don’t know exactly who talked to whom and when. The lobby register of the Bundestagwhich finally went online this year after ten years of debate, now names the lobbyists (if they enter the register in accordance with the regulations) – but does not say exactly who invested how much money for what purpose, for example.
The Uber Files also provide indications that corporations have little or no interest in such transparency. If, for example, contact with an ex-EU Commissioner like Neelie Kroes from the Netherlands was classified as “strictly confidential”, and her name did not appear anywhere in writing – then one has to ask oneself: why not? And why did Emmanuel Macron meet Uber representatives at least four times during his time as French Economy Minister – but only make one of these meetings public?
The SPD and the Greens want the lobby register in Germany to be improved, and laws should have a “footprint” that clearly shows which interest groups have worked on them. If transparency were an Uber car, the app would say: The goal has not yet been reached.