<
https://doctorow.medium.com/the-antitrust-case-against-gig-companies-cfc2d0a744dd>
"When we think of antitrust law, we usually focus on the way dominant companies
abuse their customers: raising prices, lowering quality, locking us in. But a
neglected — and powerful — aspect of antitrust is its prohibition on “vertical
restraint”: when a company seeks to control the business of its suppliers.
If we take gig companies at their word, their workers are all “independent
contractors,” which means that if those companies take steps to block their
“contractors” from working for rivals, or setting their own prices, or
otherwise structure their supply chains, they violate antitrust law.
A key vertical restraint tact is “resale price maintenance,” which is a fancy
term for setting the price that an independent contractor charges its
customers. You know how Uber sets the price for a ride, and the driver has to
like it or lump it? That’s resale price maintenance. If drivers can’t choose to
offer lower prices, then consumers are deprived of the benefit of bargaining
for a discount, and that’s illegal price-fixing."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
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mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
