Even before the pandemic struck, Europe’s collaborative economy required reform.
Covid-19 only underlines the need for urgency. Room and ride-sharing bookings are plummeting. Platforms are laying off thousands of employees and struggling with how to refund hosts and protect their drivers.
How should authorities respond? In four earlier Task Force sessions, we looked at the ambiguous legal status of collaborative economy platforms and workers and at the mishmash of different regulatory hurdles they face across the European Union. Platforms are under pressure to take on new responsibilities, from providing data to helping collect taxes to providing social protection to their participants.
In this fifth and final meeting we will look at how policymakers might respond to the challenges of the collaborative economy business model, and the impact of Covid-19. Among the questions we will try to answer are:
•What is the right amount of liability protection that digital platforms should receive in the upcoming Digital Services Act?
•Are Europe-wide taxi and room-sharing rules possible – and desirable?
•How should services such as insurance be provided?
•Should there be a new labour category between full employment and independent status?
•How should governments collect tax on this new economic activity?
Featured speakers to include representatives of the cities, platform industry, European Commission and the Catalan Competition Authority<
The event will be hosted via Zoom. Open to all public. Please register on this page to participate.
The zoom link + password will be shared with you nearer to the event.
CEPS acknowledges support from Airbnb, Badi, FREE NOW, Uber and, Zurich Insurance for this Task Force. It is conducted in complete independence. The authors take full responsibility for their findings.
