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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Finland
In February 2022, the Finnish food, grocery and retail delivery service company Wolt published a report on algorithmic transparency. The report was published in reaction to the draft declaration on digital rights and principles for everyone in the EU put forward by the European Commission. This declaration states that for better usage of AI applications and improved protection against possible threats to health, safety and fundamental rights, it is important to allow users and customers to make informed choices in digital environments.
The report lays out the different algorithms used for managing operations through the platform. The task algorithm assigns tasks to couriers based on their proximity to the pick-up locations, their vehicle type and their current activity status. According to the report, the platform does not use any ranking or rating mechanisms to determine which courier is offered a task. A task is passed on to another courier in case it is either declined or has not received any response in 60 seconds. Couriers are allowed to change their minds after accepting a task without sanctions. The workers are paid per delivery while the rate increases with the distance that must be covered in order to perform the delivery. Wolt also aims to rule out discrimination. Therefore, couriers are completely anonymised, no personal data on the number of rejected tasks and speed of delivery are gathered, and competition is kept low as tasks are only offered to one courier at a time.
However, couriers have previously criticised Wolt for low remuneration and the fact that delivery routes are measured by airline instead of taking into account the actual route, which negatively affected payments per distance. Also, couriers accused Wolt of missing out on consulting its workers on important matters.
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.
