The ELI would like to sincerely thank the Project Reporters Christoph Busch, Gerhard Dannemann, Hans Schulte-Nölke, Aneta Wiewiórowska-Domagalska and Fryderyk Zoll for the tremendous work done and congratulates them on the impressive results. A big thank you also to Project Team members, Advisors, Assessors, Members Consultative Committee members, Secretariat and all other involved stakeholders for their invaluable contributions to the final output.

The Project addresses the phenomenon that the digital economy is increasingly shaped by online platforms serving as marketplaces where customers can buy goods or book services (eg Airbnb, Uber, Amazon). Their dynamics can be difficult to reconcile with the currently existing regulatory framework at EU level. The result is that in many situations customers that conclude contracts through online platforms are left without effective consumer protection. 

The aim of the project was therefore to design model rules that will contribute to fairness and transparency in the relations between platform operators and platform users and consolidate existing European and national legislation. Furthermore, the rules provide innovative solutions for issues that could be addressed in forthcoming regulatory initiatives. As platform economy is currently rapidly on the rise, the ELI Model Rules on Online Platforms could provide a source of inspiration for European and national legislators or industry self-regulation. 

The Model Rules on Online Platforms can be found here. The Promotional Brochure with some background information is available here.