Digital home care platforms as entities of the social economy. A path for a regulatory proposal

Abstract

The sharing economy, that was born from collaborative consumption, has evolved rapidly due to the success of digital platforms, to becoming some of them large companies. To reverse this trend, it would seem necessary to promote an alternative to the nowadays mere intermediation platforms, by encouraging social economy entities to own digital platforms, especially in certain sectors as sensitive as home care services. This article, therefore, aims to propose the general outline of a specific regulation that encourages the creation of digital care platforms within the framework of the social economy. It starts by analyzing the origins of collaborative consumption, highlighting the identifying features of the true collaborative economy and the social and solidarity economy, detailing the characteristics of social economy digital platforms and especially what elements should be present in digital care platforms to be considered as third sector entities. It is also pointed out that such platforms should be owned by the working members, organized, for example, in a worker cooperative to ensure their democratic management. In addition, these entities could add value by contributing to the professionalization of caregivers, or providing complementary services to recipients, putting people at the center of the economy. The final considerations are focused on this proposal, pointing out the challenges and opportunities it entails, as well as the necessary legal reform for its implementation.