Uber ‘flaunted the law’ for years, say experts. Now the tech giant is paying the price and faces more pressure to ‘clean up its act’

News Snapshot:

When Uber burst into the Australian market more than a decade ago, it came with all guns blazing. It has been described as a "cowboy" company, which created a Wild West, muscling competitors out of the market by operating largely unregulated. While taxis had to be registered, Uber skirted licensing rules — now some of that early lawlessness has come at a cost. Uber has agreed to cough up almost $272 million to compensate taxi and hire car drivers who lost out when the company "aggressively" moved into the Australian market. The settlement is the fifth largest in Australian history...