Media and social media lobbying as a brake on the regulation of digital transport and delivery platforms in Mexico

Abstract

The regulation of digital work platforms such as Uber, Didi, and Rappi is progressing slowly around the world due to the economic interests at stake. Lobbying processes, which are legal but resort to the biased use of information, have so far allowed transnational companies to avoid restrictive legislation on their activities, evading administrative, fiscal, and labor regulations. The leak of the Uber files to the media in 2022 revealed the campaigns and tactics that one of these companies used to gain permission to operate in countries such as France and the United States. Given that these practices are also projected to be carried out in Mexico, this article exposes how lobbying takes place through indirect channels and unconventional strategies, as well as its positive results for corporations, but questionable in terms of the democratization of political decisions and their social purposes. Based on an exploratory and analytical approach, it was found that the travel and delivery platforms Uber —primarily—, Didi, and Rappi have indeed influenced the creation of laws that do not benefit them, but they have also emphasized tactics that are not open in their aims, but rather veiled and artificial through social media.