DATA PORTABILITY IN THE GIG ECONOMY

The gig economy lowers the threshold to enter the labor market. With their work on platforms, workers build a data profile, which includes numbers of completed tasks and served clients as well as the clients’ evaluations. This overview contributes to the trust (potential) clients may put in a platform worker. A strong profile usually leads to more work and possibly better earnings.

Platform work that serves as a stepping stone to the labor market is beneficial, but what would be the next step? Currently, platform workers are not able to transfer their data to other platforms. They are also not able to use their profiles in order to acquire assignments outside the gig economy. Although several research papers have made a plea for ‘portability’ of this kind of data, there has not been any progress in practice.

During this event, we explored ways in which data portability could be beneficial for platform workers. Based on previously published research results and a vivid panel discussion, we examined the pros and cons to how portability of reputation and transaction data could contribute to the agility of workers on the labor market, both inside and outside the gig economy.

Download an exclusive collaborative report on portability of reputation and transaction data for gig workers – the result of a 1,5-year research that was shared during this event.