Platform economy database
Database of initiatives and court cases in the EU
Eurofound’s platform economy database provides information on 386 initiatives and court cases that exist or have been implemented in relation to activities in the platform economy. The database was last updated in February 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 386 entries and was last updated in February 2024.
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Netherlands
In Europe, Amsterdam is one of the cities most affected by the Airbnb boom. In 2018, it had about 30 000 listings on the platform (compared to 7 000 in 2014). Municipal authorities hold the platform responsible for rising prices on the housing market, housing shortage, gentrification and an aggravation of excessive tourism (which among others causes disturbing noise levels). Therefore, it banned short-term rentals in parts of the old town in 2019 and introduced a permit that must be obtained and that allows hosts to rent out their facilities to groups with a maximum of four people for no more than 30 days per year. Hosts must be registered citizens of Amsterdam and they have to be the principal inhabitant of the property they are renting out. Rent-controlled property owned by a housing corporation must not be rented out as holiday accommodation. As of 1 April 2021, providers of holiday rentals are required to register with the national tourist rental registration system.
Prior to the launch of the European Commission’s Digital Services Act (DSA) package in December 2020, the Dutch government requested to consider the negative side effects of holiday rental platforms on housing prices and social cohesion. The Dutch authorities asked for stricter obligations for platforms to share their data. However, the Commission does not plan target specific platforms in its legislative initiative.
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.
