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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Between 2022 and 2025, the European Commission launched and concluded a major antitrust investigation into food delivery firms Delivery Hero and Glovo. The inquiry focused on suspected cartel behaviour across the European Economic Area (EEA), including market division, information sharing, and labour-related collusion. On 2 June 2025, the Commission fined the companies €329 million for breaching EU competition rules.
Initial Investigation:
In November 2025, the Commission formally opened proceedings to assess whether the companies had colluded prior to Delivery Hero’s full acquisition of Glovo in July 2022. Concerns included geographic market allocation, exchange of sensitive commercial data, and no-poach agreements.
The Commission found that from July 2018 to July 2022, the companies engaged in multi-layered cartel conduct. Delivery Hero’s minority stake in Glovo enabled access to strategic information and influence over market decisions. Both firms agreed not to recruit each other’s staff (no-poach agreements), except couriers, and coordinated market entries and exits across the EU. The companies admitted to the conduct and settled the case, receiving a 10% reduction in fines.
The case marks the Commission’s first enforcement action against labour-related cartel practices and minority shareholding-based collusion. It highlights the need for companies to implement safeguards when holding non-controlling interests in competitors. The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to protecting competition and ensuring fair labour markets.
The investigation and subsequent fine signal a shift in EU antitrust enforcement, with increased scrutiny of employer collusion and ownership structures. Companies operating in th eplatform economy must ensure compliance with competition rules and avoid practices that restrict consumer choice or worker mobility.
In July 2025, Spain's Social Security (an administrative body) demanded €450 million from the delivery platform Glovo. The demand, reported in August 2025, is for unpaid social security contributions and …
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.
