The Sharing Economy & the platform operator-user-provider “PUP Model” : Analytical legal frameworks

The Sharing Economy and related platform technologies have disrupted work, consumption, and business in ways unimaginable even a decade ago. Creating great wealth and opportunity for some, the Sharing Economy has equally undermined job security and safety for many others. One challenge for regulators, legal advisors, and scholars is developing a rigorous analytical model for these related phenomena. We present the first comprehensive legal framework for distinguishing and analyzing the various components of the Sharing Economy and their interrelationships. Our analysis is based on contract law and property law, providing a delimitation within the Sharing Economy and platform technologies based on legal categories. Our approach provides a foundation for analytical rigor that has been absent to date.