In May 2021, Spain became the first European country to legally recognize delivery riders as employees of platform companies and guarantee them trade union representation. The Spanish “rider law” aims to protect an estimated seventeen thousand precarious workers who lack basic employment protections like a minimum wage, sick pay, and collective bargaining. Introduced by a coalition of the Socialist PSOE and Podemos, the legislation is an important test case for new European-wide legislation that could be introduced by the end of the year.

The law was announced amid much media fanfare — but the platform companies’ response also calls for a more sober assessment. The Spanish example demonstrates how difficult it is to regulate platform firms that are hell-bent on maintaining the status quo. These companies have already undermined and subverted regulations and employed various “work-arounds” to avoid fully complying with the law.

This situation shows that regulation plays an important role in protecting workers, strengthening their position against bosses and providing the basis for a decent society. Organization from below is important for making these laws effective. However, to understand the problem of tech companies only in terms of legislation and lawsuits would be to miss a key opportunity for transformative change. As well as fighting for tougher regulations on tech companies, we need to develop the collective power of workers — and imagine alternative systems that could replace corporate platforms with democratic alternatives.