Derek McKee, professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Sherbrooke, will animate a discussion entitled "Airbnb and Uber: The Structure of Policy Argument". This presentation will examine the debates surrounding online platforms that allow for the sharing of rentals and services, and in particular Airbnb and Uber. The argument of the presentation is these debates have mainly been modelled on a set of liberal claims about markets and private economic activity (notably, that such activity is natural, neutral, consensual, and efficient) and a set of corresponding critiques. In addition, in the case of Airbnb and Uber, these claims and critiques operate on two levels: Airbnb and Uber are characterized not only as market participants, but as creators of infrastructure facilitating the emergence of new markets. By distinguishing among these different lines and levels of argument, we will be better positioned to understand what is at stake in these public policy debates.

This activity is addressed to researchers interested in legal theory.

In order to prepare for this collective discussion, pages 55 to 59 of this volume are suggested:

Cutler, A. Claire, ed, Private Power and Global Authority - Transnational Merchant Law in the Global Political Economy, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003.

Where: Sherbrooke : A8-122 et Longueuil : L1-2365