Ombuds Office for German crowdsourcing platforms established

The German Metalworkers' Union, eight German crowdsourcing platforms, and the German Crowdsourcing Association have jointly announced the establishment of an "Ombuds Office" for the enforcement of the "Crowdsourcing Code of Conduct.

European Parliament calls for guidelines for digital platforms

On July 16, 2017, the European Parliament adopted a text proposing to regulate the “collaborative economy,” including labor platforms.

Worker Profile: Rochelle

First in our series of crowdworker profiles is Rochelle, who lives in Los Angeles and has worked on Amazon Mechanical Turk since 2007.

Foodora couriers found works council

Vienna couriers for delivery app Foodora have founded a works council, a body for worker representation that has a say in major business decisions under Austrian law. It is the world's first works council for a labor app or platform.

Eight German labor platforms sign “Crowdsourcing Code of Conduct 2.0”

Eight Germany-based platforms have signed a document in which they agreed to include "local wage standards" as a factor in setting prices on their platforms.

content.de and IG Metall host joint workshop

German writing platform content.de and IG Metall (the German Metalworkers' Union) hosted a workshop with workers. Workers' experiences and working conditions on the platform were discussed.

Testbirds and IG Metall hold joint workshop

German software testing platform Testbirds and IG Metall (the German Metalworkers' Union) hosted a workshop with workers to discuss workers' experiences and working conditions on the platform.

Did you know there are unions for crowdworkers?

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Advice for Workers

Are you a German or Swedish crowd worker? Our free union hotlines offer advice about work and payment.

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Learn About Crowdwork

Are you a researcher, journalist, unionist, or policy maker just starting to learn about crowd work? We've collected some answers to 'big picture' questions — like 'How many crowd workers are there? What work can be crowdsourced? What is good and bad about this model?' here.

Big Picture Questions

Know Your Rights

Are you a crowdworker? Do you know your rights as to fair pay, contract law, and self-employment?

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Platform Reviews

Amazon Mechanical Turk
Writing  Other Microtask  

US-based microtask marketplace run by Amazon.com, Inc. Oldest microtask marketplace.

Terms of Service
Rejection:negative rating Change:negative rating Warranty:negative rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Worker Reviews
2.5out of five stars
AppJobber
Mobile Microtasking  

Germany-based mobile microtasking platform active in over a dozen countries in Europe. Most jobs involve taking photos of items in specific places, e.g., sales displays in stores, and pay between € 1 and € 15.

Terms of Service
Rejection:positive rating Change:positive rating Warranty:negative rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Clickworker
Writing  Software Testing  Mobile Microtasking  Other Microtask  

German microtasking platform. Offers "full service" for clients who want to break down large tasks for crowdsourcing as well as "self service" platform.

Terms of Service
Rejection:negative rating Change:positive rating Warranty:positive rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Worker Reviews
2.5out of five stars
content.de
Writing  

Germany-based content/writing platform.

Terms of Service
Rejection:positive rating Change:positive rating Warranty:positive rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Crowd Guru
Other Microtask  

Germany-based microtask platform. Crowd Guru does not offer a “self service” platform; all projects are managed by an employee.

Terms of Service
Rejection:negative rating Change:negative rating Warranty:positive rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
CrowdFlower
Other Microtask  

US-based microtasking platform. Largest English-speaking microtask platform (according to 2014 estimates). Offers "full service" and "self service." Founded 2007 as Dolores Labs.

Terms of Service
Rejection:negative rating Change:negative rating Warranty:negative rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Worker Reviews
2.5out of five stars
jovoto
Graphic Design  Writing  Other Freelance  

Germany-based platform for design. The public section is contest-based; a private section pays designers a fixed daily rate to participate in projects.

Terms of Service
Rejection:positive rating Change:positive rating Warranty:positive rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Mylittlejob
Graphic Design  Writing  Other Freelance  Other Microtask  

Germany-based microtask and freelance platform. Workers are students (or former students with university email addresses) in Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Denmark, US, and UK.

Terms of Service
Rejection:positive rating Change:negative rating Warranty:positive rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Worker Reviews
2.5out of five stars
Prolific
Other Microtask  

UK-based platform, founded to recruit participants for academic microtasks, especially surveys and online experiments.

Terms of Service
Rejection:negative rating Change:negative rating Warranty:negative rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Worker Reviews
3out of five stars
Streetspotr
Mobile Microtasking  

Germany-based mobile microtasking platform active in several European countries.

Terms of Service
Rejection:positive rating Change:negative rating Warranty:positive rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Testbirds
Software Testing  

Germany-based software-testing platform. Initiators of the Crowdsourcing Code of Conduct.

Terms of Service
Rejection:positive rating Change:positive rating Warranty:positive rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Upwork
Graphic Design  Writing  Other Freelance  

Largest English-speaking freelance marketplace, with workers in many countries all over the world. Formed in 2013 after merger of Elance and oDesk.

Terms of Service
Rejection:positive rating Change:negative rating Warranty:positive rating Client Contact:positive rating Worker Contact:positive rating
Worker Reviews
3.5out of five stars