Bonnes pratiques contractuelles et protection des consommateurs dans l’économie collaborative

Beyond enabling the meeting of peers, the digital platforms of the collaborative economy sector offer a broader service. The result is a complex contractual construction made up of several participants, either professionals or peers. The description of this construction in the general terms and conditions does not always interest the consumer who is looking for a product or service on these platforms. However, consumers need protection. Legislative interventions guarantee protection for consumers in their relationship with platforms. This imposes a difficult distinction for the consumer between what is proposed by the platform, what is proposed by another professional, and what is proposed by a peer. A European legislative intervention could take into account the specificity of the collaborative contractual relationship by considering the collaborative supplier as a non-professional, which would remove them from the category of consumer in their relationship with a peer. However, the implementation of best practices also appears to provide increased protection for platform users. Public authorities encourage the establishment of such practices, which also allows the platforms to participate in their own regulation. Voluntary initiatives such as standardization can also contribute to regulating the sector, as can academic initiatives, such as that proposed by the Équipe René Demogue of the University of Lille, through its dedicated website.