Washington Monthly

Companies like Uber and Airbnb don’t just identify an industry in need of disrupting; they identify regulatory blind spots that allow them to operate with little government oversight. For all intents and purposes, Uber is a taxi company and Airbnb is a hotel company. But both maintain they’re just services connecting users with independent contractors (in these cases, drivers and homeowners). This shell game lets the companies avoid costly licensing, training requirements, and sometimes even taxes.