Uber denies involvement in smear campaign against ex-employee Susan Fowler Rigetti
Uber has denied allegations that it is behind a smear campaign against a former employee who published a scathing blog post alleging sexual harassment claims while working at the tech business over the course of a year.
Uber denies involvement in smear campaign against ex-employee Susan Fowler Rigetti.
Susan Fowler Rigetti, a former engineer for the business, revealed on Twitter that people were being asked to share “personal and intimate info” about her, causing many to conclude Uber was behind the queries.
The assumption stems from the fact that the company is amidst an independent investigation into Rigetti's claims and has employed similar actions in the past. In 2015, it tasked a CIA-linked intelligence firm Ergo to dig up some background on a conservationist suing the company. A year later it employed the same firm to search the backgrounds of the plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against the company. The business has also threatened to uncover information on journalists who critique its decision-making.
However, in the case of Rigetti, the business told TechCrunch that it had not instructed anyone to delve into her private life. “This behavior is wrong and Uber is absolutely not involved,” it said in a statement.
Uber’s rebuttal comes as it reels from Rigetti's allegations of sexual harassment and corporate espionage. Early Uber investors have said they are disappointed in how the company’s response to the allegations, arguing against its decision to hire a “team of insiders” to investigate “its destructive culture and make recommendations for change”. The technology business hired former US Attorney General Eric Holder and Tammy Albarran, who are both partners at law firm Covington & Burling, to work with Uber board member Arianna Huffington and its chief human resources officer Liane Hornsey to independently investigate Rigetti’s allegations of sexual harassment at the business.