Uber’s loss in Europe shows trans-Atlantic split over tech

Bloomberg

A European Union decision to treat Uber Technologies Inc. like a taxi company spotlights a trans-Atlantic divide over how governments cope with disruptive technologies and could embolden US cities to restrict the ride-sharing service.
The EU Court of Justice ruled against Uber, which had argued it’s a technology platform connecting passengers with
independent drivers, not a transportation company subject to the same rules as taxi services. In the US, states have passed broad-based laws governing ride-sharing businesses, brushing aside traditional taxi-industry regulations for Uber and Lyft Inc.
“There’s a philosophical issue that we don’t have here,” said Matthew Daus, a lawyer and former chairman of the New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission. “The US approach to policy has been more heavily driven by tech-based capitalism, while the European response has been to put the brakes on services that are not licensed businesses.”
The ruling comes as European authorities have battled with Silicon Valley’s biggest technology companies. Clashes include Apple Inc. falling out with Ireland over a 2016 decision to pay $15 billion in back taxes, Alphabet Inc.’s Google being hit with a record $2.8 billion fine over shopping ads, and Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. facing inquiries for the spread of hate speech.
Paris regulators are clamping down on Airbnb, treating the home-rental website like a hotel.
The EU ruling could inspire some cities that have already had a prickly relationship with the ride-sharing services.
San Francisco’s city attorney is investigating whether Uber’s service is a public nuisance. In New York, officials are mulling ways to tighten controls. And Seattle has passed an ordinance to make it easier for Uber drivers to unionise.
“I’m sure some cities will take inspiration,” Gary Hufbauer, senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said. “Regulation of taxis in the US is generally the responsibility of each city where they operate.”
Uber’s EU case has been closely watched by the technology industry because of its precedent for regulating the gig economy, where freelancers make money by plying everything from spare rooms to fast-food deliveries via apps on smartphones.
“If the sky doesn’t fall on Uber, it tells other markets like New York and Los Angeles there are things you can extract without killing their business,” said Jon Orcutt, director of communications and advocacy for the TransitCenter, a New York-based nonprofit that advocates for mass transit.
The Uber press office didn’t respond to an email seeking comment on the implications for US regulations.
After the EU decision, the company said “This ruling will not change things in most EU countries where we already operate under transportation law.”
“However, millions of Europeans are still prevented from using apps like ours,” the company said.