Abstract
Platform services, such as Airbnb, Uber, eBay, Amazon, TaskRabbit and many more have rapidly emerged and taken over parts of existing markets for services. Airbnb’s peer-to-peer accommodation rental platform competes with hotels in many cities, whereas Uber has entered existing markets for taxi services in many large cities around the world. Innovative services such as these have been welcomed by many users but they also create new challenges: how can users be protected against health and safety risks, are payment systems safe, are e ective dispute resolution mechanisms available? Besides typical private law issues concerning the division of responsibilities between the platform and its users, also broader concerns have arisen in relation to market regulation and public order. The aim of this contribution is to ‘unpack’ the legal relationships within one platform service – Airbnb – to provide a basis for discussion of the question whether regulation of platform services is needed and if so, in what form.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | European contract law in the digital age |
| Editors | Stefan Grundmann |
| Place of Publication | Cambridge |
| Publisher | Intersentia |
| Pages | 87-102 |
| Number of pages | 16 |
| Volume | 3 |
| Edition | 1 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781780684772 |
| Publication status | Published - 2018 |