Similarly, after Airbnb’s challenge to local law 146 saw initial success in court during the Airbnb vs. New York City case, the city later flexed its regulatory might, issuing subpoenas against Airbnb and HomeAway and a judge then ordered the companies to turn over their data.58 New York and Airbnb eventually reached an agreement in which anonymized platform information is periodically shared with public officials. Likewise in Boston, a settlement was reached in 2019 through which Airbnb has become more cooperative with short term rental restrictions and regularly shares data with the city.59
Dockless Micromobility and Post Tech-Lash Municipalism: Cities Band Together and Demand Data In a post-techlash world, cities have had more political leverage and public support to take on platform urbanism. The arrival of dockless micromobility as a new entrant into the sharing economy also gave cities more practical leverage: it is a lot easier to impound a bike or scooter than it is to seize an automobile or apartment. Learning lessons from their experiences with Uber and Airbnb, and more experienced with utilizing open data standards like the General Bike Feed Specification (GBFS), local government officials passed regulations seeking data. The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT)’s development of the Mobility Data Specification and the emergence of the Open Mobility Foundation (OMF) to maintain and support not only that technical standard, but also that broader regulatory approach helped spread a stronger, more technically sophisticated form of data sharing mandate to cities across the country and internationally. It also alarmed privacy activists and reignited existing fights over corporate platform data, bring high profile lawsuits and continued debate.
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58
Botero Arcila, “The Case for Local Data Sharing Ordinances.”
59
Paris Martineau, “Airbnb Starts to Play Nice With Cities,” Wired, accessed April 11, 2022, https://www.wired. com/story/airbnb-starts-play-nice-cities/.
Towards Urban Data Commons? On the Origins and Significance of Platform Data Sharing Mandates
