Let’s Test

If there is no consensus to establish a framework for new working relationships, let’s work together to find it

The constant pace of technological innovation, growing digitalisation and associated connectivity, matched by their social implications transform our environment in an accelerated manner. One proof of this is the age of Glovo itself: in only four years we have gone from Barcelona to more than 150 cities, in just the time of a parliamentary term in Spain.

In one of its reports about socio-economic changes derived from technology, the World Economic Forum pointed out that: “We go very fast and nobody knows where.”

All this acceleration and technological expansion inevitably underlines the key role of the public authorities as guarantors of rights as well as a catalyst to the positive effects of these changes. Its role as a regulatory entity is affirmed by all the agents that interact and discuss the incorporation of technologies and new services in society.

It makes sense that legislation should have the same efficiency and speed as the changes that must be regulated. However, this expectation is not satisfied on many occasions. Here is where questions arise: how do we use legislative mechanisms to regulate topics that are highly dynamic and unpredictable? How do we draft rules for something that tomorrow may be different?

The answer may not be simple, but must be innovative: public administrations need to become innovative subjects themselves and, therefore, to incorporate the culture of trial and error to interact with the technological and digital society they need to live.

Under this approach, some countries have begun to create systems for testing new services and technologies, the so-called “regulatory sandboxes”. As a first step in defining a regulatory standard, they are essentially mechanisms aimed at learning about the operational limits and impact of innovation in a real — but controlled — environment. France, Japan, United Kingdom, Netherlands or Singapore are some of the territories where regulatory sandboxes have been enacted, and which allow them to create more attractive environments for talent, innovation and investment.

Why should we follow the test-and-learn method in the world of digital platforms?

Digital platforms are subject to a broad academic and public debate, especially those part of the on-demand economy, through which users can also become service providers, and the debate is most intense when it regards to the flexible work they generate. Among all the discussions, the one that is directed to elucidating the rules of the game of the flexible working relationships that are generated must be defined.

A diversity of public and private agents are asking for improvements in the collaboration dynamics between platforms and the services providers. Many of which are also of interest to the platforms. However, any self-initiated development that may try to improve the current relationship also increases the legal risk for the company; due to the rigid application of the legal dichotomy “labour vs. independent worker”, it will be read as proof of working relationship.

Thus, in the face of such legal uncertainty, there is a clear opportunity in trying solutions in collaboration with the Administrations, social agents, companies and citizens is clear. This way, we would be able to know in greater depth the benefits and risks that we are talking about, help to modernize the regulatory context of new productive activities operating, some times, in pre-digital regulatory frameworks.

There are precedents of pilots for the promotion of social policies and inclusion. The British Government or the Inter-American Development Bank are testing measures on pensions and savings of platform workers. Certain cities are developing guaranteed minimum income experiments, for instance; Oakland, Barcelona, ​​Helsinki or Livorno have been testing spaces where elected citizens have received a universal basic income during a specific period. All this has opened the opportunity to extract valuable results which will help to incorporate far-reaching measures associated with tax, budgetary and labour market policies.

This approach should be taken into account in the digital platforms sector. Let’s try innovative measures between platforms and users that independently provide services. Piloting these changes locally will allow us to obtain actionable data and results. A fantastic precedent to create a regulatory framework that should satisfy all the interests that come together in our activity. A way to overcome the lack of definition and legal inaction that affects all of us in some countries.

Regulation, by structuring the behaviour of economic and social agents, and introducing changes in the environment where they carry out their activity, requires a deep knowledge of the regulators for its design, something obvious but sometimes very complex. If we advance in innovative solutions, we will achieve a more agile, secure and effective regulatory response to present and future challenges.