Regole della concorrenza e tutela della forza lavoro: il (fragile?) schermo della community

The essay analyzes some of the changes that we commonly label “sharing economy”, with particular respect to the “gig economy” , corresponding to the so named – depending on the case – “work on demand via app” or “crowdwork”. In the first part of the study, the author focuses on its implications on competition law, regarding the Italian legislation and case law as well as the position of the European Court of Justice. The analysis, completed by the comparison with other European countries’ case law, shows that the mere existence of a platform that enables service providers to connect with their clients does not justify the disapplication of the legislation that regulates a particular service. Otherwise, the behavior of the platform would be qualified as unfair competition. In the second part, the author moves on the questions concerning labor law and workers protection. In case the platform is conceived as the one which organizes and profits from a certain service – that is, an economic subject (that must apply the law as all other employers do) and not a mere marketplace – this might imply the application of labor law protections. The problem is often to prove before the Court that the parties established a stable working relationship, which puts the one who provides the service (required via app) under the authority of the platform. The author shows how the different legal systems may comply with the difficulties to define the employment relationships in the contest of the current digital era.