Should the Gig Economy Stretch the Boundaries of Competition Law?

• Department of Law

This sessions hosts a paper presentation by Barış Yüksel (BASEAK Attorney Partnership) and EUI Law researcher, Selcukhan Unekbas.

The digitalisation of the economy comes with a rise in popularity of employment opportunities offering flexible working conditions and varying degrees of autonomy. Collectively known as the "gig economy", this development presents opportunities and challenges for jurisdictions, the most prominent of which materializes vis-a-vis rules regulating competition.

This article scrutinises whether gig economy workers can be regarded as subjects of competition law, by virtue of being designated as undertakings autonomously engaged in economic activity, in light of recent developments in the European Union. As a corollary of such designation, several competition law-related problems are identified, broadly categorized under anticompetitive agreements and abuses of dominance, and supported by several concrete scenarios. Since some of these scenarios will likely transcend the traditional boundaries of goals espoused by competition law, the article also analyses whether it is necessary to expand the remit of the law so as to engage with broader societal concerns.