Rules for Electronic Platforms: the role of platforms and intermediaries in digital economy A Case for Harmonization

UNCITRAL texts on electronic commerce successfully addressed and effectively tackled the challenges posed by the use of electronic communications in the formation and the performance of contracts. These are essentially ‘transaction-oriented’ rules and represent the first generation of e-commerce law. The accelerated evolution of digital economy has shown that technology is not only transforming contractual process but primarily reshaping structures and organizations and even creating new social environments. The most visible manifestation of such a transformative power is the pervasive expansion of electronic platforms. The irruption of sharing-economy models, the popularity of crowdfunding and the expansion of platforms for commercial purposes and social networking prove that today digital economy is shaped and driven by platforms. Digital economy is indeed a platform economy. Legislative attention to eplatforms is, however, fragmentary, partial and tangential, and, non-uniform. Harmonization is imperative. Local, fragmented and diverging rules raise obstacles to international trade, increase risks in e-commerce, and asphyxiate innovation. Firstly, this second generation of e-commerce requires a shift from a ‘transaction-oriented’ approach to a ‘platform-oriented’ one. Secondly, the formulation of uniform rules on platforms is strategic for a global digital economy. Thirdly, platform operators and intermediaries play a crucial role in creating and preserving digital trust. I.From Transaction-Oriented Rules to Platform-Focused Regulation: A Case for a Change of Approach In its infancy, the irruption of digital technology did clearly start impacting on the contracting process and transforming transaction components (writing, signature, original, message, methods for the manifestation of consent, sending and reception of electronic communications). The real challenge posed by digital technology at its early stage was to assess which adaptations of existing legal concepts were needed and/or which new rules were required by the use of electronic communications and digital medium in the negotiation, the formation and the performance of contracts. The pioneering UNCITRAL texts on electronic commerce did perfectly understand such needs and flawlessly address them first in the Model Laws – UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Commerce, 1996; UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures,