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US: FTC is looking into Uber, Airbnb and the ‘Sharing Economy’ and they want your opinion

By  |  April 19, 2015

The FTC is planning to take a closer look at the sharing economy that startups like Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, TaskRabbit and more have used technology to leverage into a multi-billion dollar industry. The agency announced it will host a public workshop on June 9 to talk about how the digital sharing economy impacts issues like competition and consumer rights.

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    In the lead up to the June 9 workshop, the FTC wants to hear from the public. You can submit your comment online. The questions it’s interested in appear below.

    • How can state and local regulators meet legitimate regulatory goals (such as protecting consumers, and promoting public health and safety) in connection with their oversight of sharing economy platforms and business models, without also restraining competition or hindering innovation?
    • How have sharing economy platforms affected competition, innovation, consumer choice, and platform participants in the sectors in which they operate? How might they in the future?
    • What consumer protection issues — including privacy and data security, online reviews and disclosures, and claims about earnings and costs — do these platforms raise, and who is responsible for addressing these issues?
    • What particular concerns or issues do sharing economy transactions raise regarding the protection of platform participants? What responsibility does a sharing economy platform bear for consumer injury arising from transactions undertaken through the platform?
    • How effective are reputation systems and other trust mechanisms, such as the vetting of sellers, insurance coverage or complaint procedures, in encouraging consumers and suppliers to do business on sharing economy platforms?

     

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