Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 393 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in August 2024 and provides metadata for each entry, such as geographical scope, year, type of initiative, actors involved, sector and companies concerned. Initiatives include legal instruments such as legislative changes or court decisions, as well as voluntary interventions undertaken by different stakeholders to address issues around platform work.
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The database currently contains 393 entries and was last updated in August 2024.
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Netherlands
In April 2023, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal judged in favour of Uber drivers, finding that the company had violated drivers' rights under the General Data Protection Regulation. Importantly, the Court rejected Uber’s attempt to rely on ‘humans in the loop’ and found that, based on facts, these reviews are only a symbolic act. The Court also found that trade secrets cannot be used as arguments in favour of withholding information that is relevant for explaining algorithmic decisions.
The following recent changes to this court ruling have been recorded.
In October 2023, the Court ruled that Uber failed to comply with the April decision and ordered €584,000 in penalty payments to Uber drivers fired through automatic algorithms, with €4,000 accruing for each additional day of non-compliance. This Court ruling is the result of the automated decision to dismiss two Uber drivers from Portugal and the United Kingdom, which was brought by Worker Info Exchange.
The platform economy is one of those moving targets, which, despite receiving increasing media and policy attention, has proven difficult to regulate. Given the heterogeneity of employment relationships, business models, types of platform work and cross-border issues, this is not surprising.
Technological change is accelerating as the capacity of electronic devices to digitally store, process and communicate information expands. Digitalisation is transforming the EU economy and labour markets: nearly one-third of EU workplaces are categorised as highly digitalised. What are the implications of the digital revolution for employment and work?
The rapid rise of the platform economy has led to a marked transformation of European labour markets, and existing regulatory frameworks and voluntary initiatives have yet to catch up. While platform work offers opportunities for workers and employers and potentially contributes to innovation, economic growth and competitiveness in the EU, it has been criticised from the beginning because of the poor employment and working conditions often experienced by workers.
While 2020 may come to be seen as the year platform work gathered pace and started to go mainstream – thanks in large part to COVID-19 containment measures sparking an increase in food and grocery delivery – 2021 could be the year that regulation of platform work is set in motion.
