Data privacy and the regulation of ridesharing platforms

Abstract

Notwithstanding its many agreeable benefits, the sharing economy has presented numerous negative externalities and policy challenges. Foremost among these is the abuse of users' privacy, which is enabled by the capture of vast troves of data by sharing economy platforms. As humankind confronts the frontier of generative artificial intelligence, examining how privacy harms have been articulated and addressed in the context of ridesharing is a beneficial exercise and one that can be enhanced by looking beyond U.S. borders. This Article, therefore, uses a functionalist comparative law methodology to examine the regulation of ridesharing platforms concerning user data in the United States and China, and to reveal actionable insights for policymakers. Following a primer on comparative law methodology, the Article integrates Chinese- and English-language primary and secondary sources to compare the ridesharing data regulations of China and the United States along their institutional and substantive dimensions. We argue that China has effectively utilized the benefits of its federalist structure by promulgating a floor of data privacy regulations at the national level that enables local regulators to address local realities while also preserving the incentives to innovate that are so important for technology firms. We suggest that a national regulatory floor would also promote consistency and innovation in the United States and would similarly enable regulators to speedily and efficiently respond to market failures in fast-paced technology sectors. We also argue that the utilization of technology to enhance the regulatory oversight of technology firms would behoove the United States, though perhaps with the addition of certain guardrails that do not exist in the Chinese legal environment.