“Peer-to-peer” economy and social ontology: legal issues and theoretical perspectives

Avv. Dott. Federico Costantini
Dipartimento di Scienze Giuridiche
Università degli Studi di Udine
Via Treppo 18, Udine
[name].[surname]@uniud.it
“Peer-to-peer” economy and social
ontology: legal issues and theoretical
perspectives
May 31st 2015 (ore 14.00-17.30)
Nautilus Room
Grand Hotel Bernardin
Obala 2 6320 Portorož
Slovenia
PhiloWeb 2015 Workshop
12th European Semantic Web Conference (ESWC) 2015
Portoroz (Slovenia) // May 31st – June 4th, 2015

2
<index>
</index>
<Section (1)>
Foreword
</Section (1)>
<Section (2)>
(Another) «Uber case»: Giudice di Pace di Torino 17th April 2015
</Section (2)>
<Section (3)>
The problem of «control»: in peer to peer platforms
</Section (3)>
<Section (4)>
«Social ontology»: theoretical issues
</Section (4)>
<Section (5)>
Final remarks
</Section (5)>

4
<Foreword> <Section (1)>
A few preliminary explanations:
(1) «Why?», thesis discussed
- Some issues on (profit) peer to peer business models
- Some concerns regarding their theoretical background
(2) «How?», methodology
- Realistical perspective in philosophy of law («Right» / «Law»)
- From «Quid juris?» to «Quid jus?»: theoretical issues arising from
jurisprudence
(3) «What?», subject
- UberPOP as an example of profit peer to peer economy
- Different sentence discussed here: «Giudice di pace» of Turin (14th april
2015) instead of «Giudice di Pace» of Genoa (14th february 2015)
</Section (1)>

5
<Section (2)>
The «Uber case»: sentence
by «Giudice di Pace» of
Turin 17th April 2015

6
<The «Uber case»> <Section (2)>
Aspects taken into consideration:
(1) What is Uber and how UberPOP works
- General explanation of the services provided
- Some quick evaluations
(2) Analysis of the «Uber case»
- Legal framework
- Analysis of the legal arguments
(3) Evaluations
- State-of-the-art in Italy and in the European Union
- Findings and useful remarks

7
Travis Cordell Kalanick
(image 2014: wikipedia)
Garrett Camp
(image 2009: wikipedia)
- 2009 Founded
- 2010 Started provide services
- 2012 Gone global
- 2014 Extended services

8
Uber Headquarters, San Francisco, CA
Image: Google Earth

9
Services provided:
(1) traditional taxi service (UberTAXI);
(2) chauffeur of luxurious vehicles (UberBLACK, UberSUV and UberLUX);
(3) trips provided by private drivers on their everyday vehicle (UberX,
UberXL, UberPOP);
(4) sharing fares among Uber users on UberX trips (UberPOOL) .
Uberchopper: another service provided by Uber

10
http://www.allaguida.it/foto/uber-ed-uberpop-facchiamo-
chiarezza_14791.html
The Uber driver:
- Replies to the request
- Picks up the passenger
- Drives him/she to the destination
- Receives the payment (minus a fee which goes to Uber)
The Uber passenger:
- Downloads the Uber app
- Requests transport
- Pays

11
UBER
 <<<- Transport

«payment» + fee «payment» - fee
€€€€€
€€€€
«I have to
go to a
place, but I
don’t have a
car»
«I have a
car, I can
take you
there»

12
Uber fares compared with taxi fares (Source: esposto AGCOM Movimento consumatori pag. 3)
It is quite obvious the convenience for consumers in using Uber services
instead of autorized taxi services

13
Legal decisions in Italy regarding Uber as of today
26th May 2014
Proceeding of an administrative Commission regarding a strike of the taxi service in Milan against
UBER.
10th October 2014
Tribunale Amministrativo Regionale of Lombardy suspends a Municipality provision of Milan (n.
209 of 29th Juy 2013) restraining the use of mobile application in transportation services.
14th Febbraio 2015
The «Giudice di Pace» of Genoa uphold the action against the punishment received by a Uber
driver from the Municipality for infringement of the provisions governing taxi services.
17th Aprile 2015
The «Giudice di Pace» of Turin uphold the action against the punishment received by a Uber driver
from the Municipality for infringement of the provisions governing taxi services.
26th May 2015
The court of Milan orders to Uber to suspend its UberPOP services as a precautionary measure.

14
Proceedings concerning Uber in European Union as of today
- 20th November 2014:
First complaint presented to the European Commission regarding the
French «Loi Thévenoud»
http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/14/ta/ta0409.asp
- 29 gennaio 2015
Second complaint against France
- ?
Complaint against Germany
- ?
Complaint against Spain
For further details:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_Uber%27s_service

15
L. 15th January 1992, n. 21, «Legge quadro per il trasporto di persone mediante
autoservizi pubblici non di linea», in O.J. n. 18th 23 january1992.
Taxi services
(art. 2)
Chaffeur services
(art. 3)
Addresses of the offer Undetermined Determined
Places of parking Public areas Private (garage)
Fares Fixed by Municipalities Free
Request by passenger Everywhere Only in garage
Art. 6 Specific professional category for drivers
Art. 8 Call for tender to obtain driver licenses
Art. 11 bis Fines and penalties for infringements
D. Lgs. 30th April 1992, n. 285 «Nuovo codice della strada», in O.J. n. 114 18th
May 1992, S.O. n. 74.
Art. 86 Punishments for infringements: Driving licence revoked, fines, seizure of the vehicle

16
The «Giudice di Pace» of Turin uphold the action against the punishment
received by a Uber driver from the Municipality for infringement of the
provisions governing taxi services.
Let’s focus on two arguments used to revoke the penalty:
(1) regarding Uber as a business
(2) regarding the relation between new technologies and law

17
(1) Uber as a new business model
Italian English
«È di palmare evidenza che le nuove
tecnologie abbiano comportato un vuoto
nella regolamentazione del servizio,
stante la sua specificità […].
Stante la necessità di regolamentazione
normativa del servizio, allo stato, in
assenza di norme specifiche, non si può
far luogo ad alcuna sanzione, in
mancanza di normativa repressiva
specifica; nullum crimen, nulla poena
sine lege, in applicazione di principi di
rango costituzionale»
«It's clear that new technologies have
led to a void in the regulation of the
service, given its peculiarity[…].
Given the need for statute discipline of
the service, by now, in the absence of
specific rules, there cannot be penalties,
in the absence of specific repressive
legislation; nullum crimen, nulla poena
sine lege, in application of constitutional
principles»
But… there is a law applying to Uber, and specifically Dir. 2000/31/CE,
O.J.C.E. L 178 of 17th July 2000, pagg. 1–16 - operating in the Italian
legal system through D. Lgs. 9th April 2003 n.70, in G.U. 14th April 2003,
n. 87, S.O. n. 61 (also if Uber *maybe* coud be considered aas an «active
hosting provider»)

18
(1) Law and new technologies
Italian English
Uber services «appare […] non essere
concretamente regolamentata
dall’ordinamento vigente che, per propria
natura, non può prevedere le possibilità
che le nuove tecnologie possono
garantire» (pag. 4),
The activity performed by the Uber driver
«appare porsi nell’ambito del rapporto
privatistico che si instaura con il contratto
di trasporto» (pag. 5).
Uber services «appear […] not be
effectively regulated in current
regulations which, by their nature, can
not foresee the possibilities that new
technologies can provide» (p. 4)
The activity performed by the Uber driver
«appears fitting within the private law
relationship that is established with the
contract of transport» (p. 5).
Here there is a blatant contraddiction.. But what does it mean really?

19
(3) Evaluation
Legal issues emerging from UberPOP (three aspects):
(1) Uber and the Uber driver
(2) The passenger and the Uber driver
(3) Liability and third parties

20
(3) Evaluation
(1) Uber and the Uber driver
The driver has to be considered a private or a
professional?
Private individual  worker  Labour rights
(vacation, health care, pension)
Professional  entrepreneur  fair competition
(taxes)

21
(3) Evaluation
(2) The passenger and the Uber driver
What kind of relationship stands between the
passenger and the Uber driver?
Direct  the driver is a carrier  Extended
liability as such, but anonimously
Indirect  the carrier is Uber  the driver is an
employee

22
(3) Evaluation
(3) Liability and third parties
Question: Who is responsible, for example, in
case of a car accident hurting pedestrians?
Three possible answers:
(1) The driver
 arguing that the driver is an entrepreneur …
(2) Uber
 arguing that the driver is a worker …
(3) The passenger
 arguing that the has asked for the service …

23
(3) Evaluation
PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
There have to be a reason why it’s so difficult to find a satisfying
legal solution to the issues arising from the case.
The fact is that Uber pretends to put itself outside the legal system,
to bind its users not with contract conditions, but with laws.
The problem is not a «rechtsleeer Raum», as the judge of Turin
would like to tell us ... But the fact that Uber pretends to become
sovereign “overlapping” the legal system.
Maybe there is no “void” of law,
but too much of it.
</Section (2)>

24
<Section (3)>
The problem of «control» in
peer to peer platforms

25
The problem of «control» in peer to peer platforms <Section (3)>
(1) What is basically the peer to peer economy
- Examples
- business model (basic scheme)
(2) Theoretical issues in peer to peer economy
- Economical studies background
- theoretical background of the concept of «control»

26
www.ebay.it
… some examples …

27
www.airbnb.com

28
www.haystackmobile.com
www.monkeyparking.co

29
www.taskrabbit.com

30
www.mturk.com

31
www.supermercato24.it

32
Business model (basic scheme)
Web platform
Start-up
«technicians»


«Business angels»
€

<-Task / Activity /
Performance
Paying user Performing user
Fee (Fee)
€€€€€
€€€€


(Less revenue) More revenue

33
Capitalism
(Individual)
Free Market
No law
Socialism
(collectivity)
No market
Only law
Basic idea behind the «sharing economy»
Collaborative consumption
(Seventies)
Sharing information
(Internet)
Peer to peer economy

+

34
<Section (3)>
Technological Advance
No legal rules
Technology rules
itself
Why?
The problem of «control» in peer to peer platforms

35
<Section (3)>
The «peer to peer» approach can be seen in different fields, as
an «horizontal» synthesis of different «verticalistic» oppositions:
Network architecture:
Client  server  peer to peer network
Economy:
Wealth  Labour  collaborative consumption
Politics:
State  Subject  governance of citizens
Customer law:
Customer  Professional  platform user

36
<Section (3)>
The key concept is that the peer to peer system has
to be considered in a «naturalistic» perspective
«juxta propria principia»
Telesio, Bernardino. De rerum natura iuxta propria principia. Opera omnia. 2 vols Cosenza: Casa
del libro, 1965-1971. 1565.

37
<Section (3)>
This vision is
expressed by
cybernetics
http://webmuseum.mit.edu/detail.php?type=related&
kv=12187&t=people (NORBERT WIENER)

38
<Section (3)>
In cybernetics, a key concept is
the «control» of information,
which allows a system to be
self-organizing
-> autopoiesis

39
<Section (3)>
With «control» we mean a kind of power that is:
(1) absolute
since it has no intrinsic limitations
(2) exclusive
as it is not divisible
(3) it is teleonomic
since it cannot have a further or extrinsic purpose
(4) self-exculpatory
as it does not admit the concept of error, but only that of anomaly
</Section (3)>

40
<Section (3)>
In peer to peer platforms can be seen a «unified vision of mind and nature»
(G. Bateson) since in them there is a naturalistic perspective.
Issues arise since data sharing among users becomes control of
information by the platform.
This happens basically when a shift occurs in the system, which reaches a
higher level of complexity.
When this happens, the efficiency of the system is focused on the platform
and not on the users: «collaborative consumption» becomes «skimming
economy»
Data sharing
Among users
Control of information
By the platform

41
<Section (3)>
</Section (3)>
Users end up depending from the platform.
They are just useful to perform duties the system cannot do autonomously
(drive a car, accommodate a guest in his room, deliver a package at home,
fix a sink, babysitting).
The difference between the agreed remuneration and the market price falls
into the profit of the platform.
The platform uses the data collected to increase the «information
asymmetry».
Cooperation among
users
Coordination of the users by
the platform

42
<Section (4)>
«Social ontology»:
theoretical issues

43
«Social ontology»: theoretical issues <Section (4)>
(1) What is basically «social ontology»
- general definition
- basic representation
(2) The problem of control in «social ontology»
- Main issues
- Consequences

44
- (very) general definition: an ontology is an abstract representation of the
Being
- «social ontology» is basically the structure of human relations holding a
social community as a unity balanced inwards and outwards
- from «social ontology» arises the «Natural Law»
(1) What is basically «social ontology»
Italian English
«Osserviamo tutte le nazioni così barbare
come umane, quantunque, per immensi spazi
di luoghi e tempi tra loro lontane, divisamente
fondate, custodire questi tre umani costumi:
che tutte hanno qualche religione, tutte
contraggono matrimoni solenni, tutte
seppelliscono i loro morti
[…] idee uniformi, nate tra popoli sconosciuti
tra loro, debbon aver un principio comune di
vero»
«We acknowledge that all nations, both
uncivilized and civilized, though, far apart to the
immense spaces of times and places, differently
established, keep these three human customs: all
have some religion, all contract solemn
marriages, all bury their dead
[...] Uniform ideas, born among peoples unknown
to each other, they ought to have a common
principle of truth»
-> Vico, Giambattista. La Scienza Nuova, giusta l'edizione del 1744, con le varianti dell'edizione del 1730 e di due
redazioni intermedie inedite. Bari: G. Laterza & figli, 1928. §.333

45
Three aspects have to be considered in peer to peer platforms:
(1) Social connections: control and politicy
Social ties cannot be reduced and manipulated to efficiency functions.
Social ties tend to be stable, not flexible.
With social control cannot arise institutions and political community
(2) Users as anonymous agents or human beings
Human task are not standardized (personal motivation, style)
With control they have to be deprived of the personal element
In peer to peer platform: Human trust  brand loyalty
(3) Performance for profit / for free
The value of a performance is measured only in economic terms
Some human performance are free: solidarity / courteousness
Customary rule as unifying elements in society
(2) The problem of control in «social ontology»

46
To sum up, the control approach tends to «flaten» social ties and reduce them
to a network structure while «social ontology» seems to have a «molecular»
shape.
</Section (4)>
"Social Red" by Daniel Tenerife - Own
work. Licensed under GFDL via Wikimedia
Commons -
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soc
ial_Red.jpg#/media/File:Social_Red.jpg
By Zephyris (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
sa/3.0) or GFDL
(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via
Wikimedia Commons

47
<Section (5)>
Final remarks

48
Final remarks <Section (5)>
Flash mob
Image: http://www.giornalettismo.com/archives/80271/flash-mob
Peer to peer economy appears to be a beautiful tool gain mutual benefits
from human cooperation but has a kind of dark side …

49
Final remarks <Section (5)>
Given by the fact that sharing data
– especially in profit platform –
tend to become control of
information and thus to expand its
power in the off line world,
endangering «social ontology».
http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/03/technology/innovat
ionnation/uber-self-driving-cars/
</Section (5)>
Home page www.uber.com

50
Many thanks for your kind attention

“Peer-to-peer” economy and social ontology: legal issues and theoretical perspectives

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