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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On June 13, 2025, the International Labour Organization (ILO) agreed to develop binding global standards for the platform economy, a sector which is estimated to employ over 150 million people worldwide. This breakthrough decision, which will take the form of a binding Convention and a supplementary Recommendation, was supported by most governments and all workers' delegates but opposed by employer delegates and some countries, including the US, India, and Switzerland.
The standards aim to address key issues faced by platform workers, who are often denied basic labor protections. The central problems include:
The final round of negotiations will take place at the 2026 International Labour Conference. Human Rights Watch noted that the strength of the final treaty will depend on avoiding loopholes, such as deferring to weaker national laws, and ensuring that platform workers themselves have a significant role in the negotiation process.
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.
