Analysis of draft ILO Convention and Recommendation on the platform economy

"On 3 July 2025, the General Conference of the International Labour Organization (ILO) adopted a resolution committing the ILO to adopt a Convention supplemented by a Recommendation concerning decent work in the platform economy following a second discussion on this issue in 2026. PI welcomes the ILO's decision as a step in the right direction to protect platform workers who have been at the forefront of new forms of data exploitation in the workplace as we have been documenting for many years."

"The platform economy has created an environment of unprecedented surveillance and monitoring for workers that greatly threatens privacy and other fundamental rights. In August 2025, the ILO published updated texts of the draft Convention supplemented by a Recommendation on decent work in the platform economy. PI has examined these texts and provides its analysis of key provisions of them in the attached document below."

"Our overall assessment is that the current draft does not sufficiently address certain challenges related to the use of automated systems. In particular, PI is encouraging the ILO and its Members to develop instruments that strongly protect the privacy of digital labour workers by implementing the following measures: Requiring platforms to maintain a public register of automated systems deployed and provide workers and their representatives with comprehensive information in accessible language about their purpose, design and functioning."

On 3 July 2025 the ILO General Conference committed the ILO to adopt a Convention and a Recommendation on decent work in the platform economy after a second discussion in 2026. PI welcomes the decision as a step toward protecting platform workers facing new forms of data exploitation. The platform economy has created unprecedented surveillance and monitoring that threatens privacy and other fundamental rights. In August 2025 the ILO published updated draft Convention and Recommendation texts. PI examined the updated drafts and analyzed key provisions, finding the draft insufficient on automated systems and urging stronger privacy protections, including public registers of automated systems and written explanations for automated decisions in accessible language.

Read at Privacy International