@ALDEParty Congress resolutions 2014 - Regulation in the Digital Economy – The case of Uber

The Free Democrats (Germany) have often been seen as economic liberals first and foremost, an impression that their recent travails in government did nothing to change. They raise an interesting argument here, even if they appear to have a touching faith in the free market...

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party convening in Lisbon, Portugal on 20-22 November 2014:

Notes that

• ALDE asserts its commitment to market principles as the means through which to encourage prosperity;
• competition and knowledge sharing is what drives companies to research and innovate in pursuit of competitive advantage, which in turn leads to a better standard of products and services and lower prices;
• today’s technologies have the potential to enable exponential improvements in quality, price, and efficiency;
• many regulators have reacted to the new challenges of the digital economy by simply banning it;

Considering that

• the debate about taxi apps is really a debate about the wider sharing economy. This debate forces us to think about the disruptive effects of digital technology and the need for entrepreneurs in our society;
• medallions and similar quotas create an artificial scarcity that insulates the market from competition. That lack of competition, in turn, undermines any incentive for innovation or investment in new technology;
• safety, predictable prices, and adequate insurance are still important public interest goals that could justify some level of continued government oversight;

Calls on

• regulators to consider that we cannot address the challenges of digital technology by ignoring them or by trying to ban these innovations;
• all relevant parties to engage in a real dialogue in order to discuss disruptions caused by technology and to find reasonable accommodations of innovation that ensure fair competition among all players on the market.