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>I think this is rewriting history just a bit.

https://techcrunch.com/2011/05/25/uber-airbnb-jail-time/

Uber was an illegal taxi service in every jurisdiction they entered that I am aware of. This wasn't really gray. It was remarkable the restraint jurisdictions showed, I suspect because there was a sense that if they clamped down they didn't "get it".

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By that point Uber had already been operating for 2 years.

I'm questioning whether they launched knowing full well they were shirking the law, or if they launched, realized they were in legal trouble, and then proceeded to not give a sh*t. :)

It should have been obvious to anyone with a modicum of sense that operating an unlicensed taxi service was illegal.

Judging by the emailed cited in the article, I no longer assume what is and isn't obvious to the founders of Uber, and I certainly don't assume they have even a modicum of sense... ;)

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