Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 443 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in November 2025 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 443 entries and was last updated in November 2025.
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Austria
On 1 September 2025, the Austrian Federal Administrative Court (BVwG) ruled that the Labour Market Opportunities Assistance System (AMAS), developed by the Public Employment Service (AMS), does not breach the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This decision followed a previous ruling by the Administrative Court, which had overturned an earlier BVwG judgment and called for a fresh legal review.
Key Points
AMS appealed the decision, and in December 2020, the BVwG initially ruled in its favour. However, the data protection authority escalated the matter to the Higher Administrative Court, which ordered a reassessment.
In its latest decision, the BVwG upheld the legality of the AMAS system and did not permit a further ordinary appeal. The data protection authority may still pursue an extraordinary appeal.
The court’s decision supports the continued use of the AMAS tool, provided that human oversight remains integral to the assessment process. The data protection authority retains the option to challenge the ruling through an extraordinary appeal.
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.
