Conference explores the intersection of competition and labor law in the platform economy

The conference was part of the collaboration project between the Porto School of Law of the Portuguese Catholic University and the University of Information Technology and Management in Rzeszow, Poland, entitled “Semi-workers and Semi-competitiors? The Interplay of Competition and Labour Law in Times of “Platformisation“. 

This project aims to study the protection afforded to platform providers, as a confluence zone between Competition Law and Labour Law.

“This conference was exceptionally timely and interesting, especially if we consider the ongoing legislative developments that are materialising at EU level on the “existential” issues posed by a platform-dominated economy across the EU”, says Professor Giuseppe Mazziotti, Fair MusE’s coordinator. One of Fair Muse’s assumptions is that copyright and authors’ rights, especially in a platform-dominated economy, constitute an ultimate form of protection of (creative) labour”, he adds. “Having had the chance to talk to, and openly debate with, scholars from Portugal and Poland focusing on platform worker’s human rights, labour law provisions and the competition law (and regulation) remedies that might help Europe curb the disproportionate power of the largest online platforms was a great learning experience.  It was an unique opportunity for us to share Fair MusE’s mission with esteemed colleagues”.

Fair MusE’s coordinator, Giuseppe Mazziotti, leading the discussion during the session titled “Are content creators platform ‘workers’?”

Cover photo by Kane Reinholdtsen on Unsplash