Threatening to leave an area when regulations tighten up isn't an uncommon response from the ride-sharing company, and it's one that they must repeat. If Uber complies with laws that apply to taxis, then it is admitting that it's both a cab-like service as well as an employer. That could seriously restrict its free-wheeling approach to disrupting the transportation industry.

Danish taxi driver unions and cab operators have argued in European courts that Uber doesn't comply with legal standards set for taxi firms and that the service it enables is unfair competition. Uber doesn't just face legal challenges, either, as it deals with several public relations issues related to shady executive behavior and evasion of authority.

Uber promises to "continue to work with the government" in Denmark to keep its services running as the regulations go into effect next month.