Human Rights Challenges Posed by the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The Uber Case.

Abstract

The thesis is analysing the way in which the fourth industrial revolution is affecting the right to work, rights at work and the right to social protection and the capacity of states to protect, respect and fulfil those rights. It offers a discussion of the gig economy from a human rights perspective focused on rights at work and an applied case-law analysis on the misclassification of drivers by Uber Technologies Inc.; with an appendix of Uber case-law. The thesis is concluding that the fourth industrial revolution is weakening states capacity to enforce existing national and human rights legislation and is affecting to a large extent the fulfilment and protection of socio-economic rights. Re-contextualizing the right to enjoy the benefits of technological developments (article 15b of ICESCR) in the light of the fourth industrial revolution can offer a human rights legal background for future initiatives to tackle the unwanted effects of the technological developments.