Uber was literally hiring contractors for the purpose of breaking the law, in one case actively recruited a driver from a county where it was was legal to a county where it was illegal (driver was arrested), provided drivers training on how to avoid police detection, and even provided at least Miami drivers a lawyer when charged (lawyer was an Uber lobbiest not a traffic lawyer).
Net impact on society: a bunch of rides subsidized by VC money and a lot of unemployed/underemployed workers left with marks on their driving record or criminal records which likely caused them to lose their Uber job and further hurting their chances of future employment.