Colombia’s Senate has published the draft of the first reading of Senate Bill 002/2016, which transposes Digital Sharing Economy (DSE) regulation into Colombian law. This deals with any economic activity by means of which goods or services are exchanged using digital platforms that put the customer and the supplier in direct contact.

As well as defining certain important DSE concepts (such as the sharing economy, open knowledge and collaborative production), this regulation stipulates that DSE business models are i) the provision of professional services, ii) the provision of "peer to peer" services, or those services in which two or more people interact to exchange goods or services in exchange for something, and iii) collaborative platforms where a service is provided in exchange for something that may be online, remote or provided through an individual request for service.

The regulation establishes that natural or legal persons wishing to provide DSE model services must be filed on the companies’ register.

Regarding the regulatory framework for activities carried out by means of DSE systems, this bill indicates that when such activities compete with regulated companies and/or companies with special licences to carry out the same activities, the Information Technologies & Communication Ministry (MINTIC), in conjunction with the corresponding ministry and/or supervisory authority of the sector in question, may create the regulatory framework to level the playing field.

The bill also indicates that, for the purposes of the DSE, consumer protection measures and Habeas Data regulations will be applicable.

The last important component of this bill is the implementation deadlines it sets for DSE regulations, as well as the State’s obligation to support the reinforcement of the institutional and regulatory framework to promote, defend and disseminate the DSE.