Insights from Inline Policy
Amid the fallout from the U.S. election, you might be forgiven for failing to notice that something very significant happened for the gig economy on polling day. Voters in California approved Proposition 22, a ballot measure sponsored by Uber, Lyft, and Postmates, to classify ride hailing and delivery drivers as independent contractors, rather than employees, unless certain criteria are met. This means that, barring a legal challenge or repeal in the California state legislature, the gig economy companies will not have to adhere to Assembly Bill 5. This is a major victory for the sector.
Inline Policy was launched five years ago as the vision of our Founder, Shomik Panda. In this blog, Shomik reflects on the challenges of starting a business from scratch and some of the highlights of the past five years.
In a hugely significant development yesterday telecom regulators in the United States voted to proceed with net neutrality rules. Amid protests the vote was passed with three commissioners of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) voting in favour and two voting against. Tom Wheeler, chairman of the FCC, said that "the consideration we are looking at today is not about whether the internet should be open but how and when we have rules in place to ensure an open internet."
