This book is the outcome of quite an uncommon research project. As a response and contribution to a broad debate on the enormous legal challenges posed by the blooming platform economy, a research group of academics from various European countries sat down and drafted a proposal for an EU directive on online platforms.
The full wording of this proposal was published in 2016. The present book contains a commentary that sets out the main lines of reasoning for the choices that the research group made, and explains how these should be applied. It also includes translations of the proposed directive into nine languages.
Meanwhile, the discussion on legislation has broadened considerably and has gained pace. The European Commission has recently submitted first and comparatively limited proposals for dealing with platforms. In addition, several countries have enacted legislation or are considering state intervention in this area. Moreover, the European Law Institute is working on Model Rules for Online Platforms on the basis of the published proposal. The present book presents a timely contribution to the ongoing debates on the legal response to this ever growing area of the economy.