Strangling the Future

For John, BLUF:  The ability to innovate is critical to economic growth and increased services for customers.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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In a big loss for Uber, European Union court says it must follow taxi company rules

From The Old Gray Lady, and Ms Liz Alderman, via The Boston Globe, 20 December 2017.

The lede:

NEW YORK — The European Union’s highest court on Wednesday declared that Uber is a transportation business, not just a technology platform that connects drivers and riders.

The ruling, a significant setback for a company that’s grappling with a string of scandals, will force Uber to comply with the bloc’s transportation rules.  It is also likely to restrict the company from expanding services that allowed nonprofessional drivers to offer rides to clients.

While the ruling focused on these so-called peer-to-peer operations, it will most likely be scrutinized by regulators looking more broadly at the so-called gig economy, a growing part of the workforce, in which people operate as freelancers or on short-term contracts, as opposed to holding permanent jobs.

Policy makers around the globe have been struggling with how to frame rules for a new style of employment as rapidly shifting business models outpace regulations that for decades were formulated around traditional 9-to-5 jobs.  Legislation in many countries has not kept up with the trend toward atypical work arrangements that companies use to cut costs.

Trying to force new businesses into the forms of the past is really just feather bedding, and is bad, in the long run, for both citizens and governments.

Regards  —  Cliff