Inline Insights

This week's top 3 stories: Ford and SEAT get in on the scooter action, Paris invites bids for car sharing schemes, Addison Lee loses its appeal.

Governments and regulators are actively considering how competition policy should respond to the growth of the digital economy. A forthcoming report from the European Parliament provides an insight into the state of the debate in Brussels.

While discussions continue on the European Commission’s proposals for a harmonised Digital Services Tax, a number of different approaches to taxing online service providers and platforms is emerging across Europe.  With the UK the latest EU country to consider going it alone, we look at who is proposing what when it comes to digital services taxes.

This week's top 3 stories: BMW and Daimler get the green light, Bird launches trial in London, new rise hailing rules in Portugal.

This week's top 3 stories: Report highlights licensing problems for UK taxi and private hire drivers, VW and Intel working on autonomous ride-hailing in Israel, electric scooters to be legalised in Germany. 

The European Commission's latest Work Programme lays out its priorities for 2019. It includes a number of regulatory issues for the tech sector to be finalised before May 2019’s European elections; both Digital Single Market (DSM) initiatives and several that fall outside of the DSM umbrella.

1. Going green in London

This week has seen a number of green initiatives in London's competitive ride-hailing market. With CEO Dara Khosrowshahi in town and on a charm offensive, Uber made a number of announcements, including that it will be adding £0.15 per mile to the price of every ride in London to create a fund to to help drivers switch to electric vehicles. With an aim of all Ubers in London being fully electric by 2025, the company also announced a number of measures to support the roll out of more charging points in London.

The UK Government has positioned itself an avid supporter of the immersive tech sector. It is nurturing the fledgling domestic industry through a range of mechanisms, including funding, tax incentives, mentorship and practical support.

Tighter drone regulation is on its way all acorss Europe, with EASA about to finalise its long-awaited blueprint. But some of the more difficult questions remain unanswered. And they are set to the define the industry for many years to come.

Buried in the detail of a proposed Regulation from the European Commission was the establishment of an Observatory of the online platform economy. It has now been established and has a broad remit but little power, so far. Is this the foundation of a new EU regulator for online platforms?

Our ‘Brexit in Perspective’ infographic puts the UK’s decision to leave the EU in its broader context of European economic integration and maps the economic implications of the numerous political decisions available to the UK.

Electric scooters are the latest addition to transport options in cities. They are user-friendly, green and increasingly popular with consumers, but in some cities they are causing headaches for policymakers.

The UK Government has engaged a panel to review competition in digital markets, and one of the key themes is the concentration of 'big tech'. With the panel tasked with consulting industry and reporting by early 2019, companies seeking to influence the panel's thinking need to get started as soon as possible.

The approach of certain transport tech companies has alienated urban authorities across the globe, and contributed to something of a backlash. However, there are signs that cities are beginning to see how they can accommodate the new players in the transport space.

As Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) comes under increased scrutiny by European policymakers, Inline has created a guide to key developments on monitoring, research, infrastructure, and standards impacting the industry.

A public affairs agency can provide you with up-to-date policy and regulatory trends, analyse how they could impact your business, and use their network in the policy community to help you engage with decision makers. But how do you choose the right one for your business?

Innovation in the tech sector is moving at a rapid pace, and the companies driving these innovations are increasingly facing political and regulatory hurdles. A public affairs agency can help companies monitor trends in politics and regulation that may affect their business.

Policy and regulation can have a significant impact on companies in the tech sector, in terms of both their operations and their growth prospects. Keeping abreast of political and regulatory trends will help companies to spot potential threats or opportunities early on.

As the number of self-employed people continues to rise in the UK, the need to provide support to this growing workforce is becoming increasingly important. But how can access to benefits and protections be improved, without relying on the incumbent employment relationships through which these are traditionally delivered? Emergent WorkerTech technology and applications may be part of the solution.