The rapid growth of some sharing economy platforms has stirred considerable debate over the application of state and local regulation to these platforms and their users, according to a staff report released by the Federal Trade Commission.

Regulatory measures may be needed to protect consumers, promote public safety, and meet other legitimate governmental goals. On the other hand, regulation can chill incentives for innovation by increasing costs and decreasing potential returns, thereby impeding or preventing new entry and depriving consumers of the benefits of new product and service offerings.

The report, “The “Sharing” Economy: Issues Facing Platforms, Participants, and Regulators,” found lawmakers and regulators face a challenging task in balancing these concerns. The report summarizes a June 2015 FTC public workshop and examines issues facing platforms, participants and regulators in the sharing economy.

According to some workshop participants, sharing economy suppliers frequently compete with traditional suppliers of similar products or services, and should be subject to the same regulatory requirements to ensure a level playing field. Other participants, however, suggested requirements imposed on new platform suppliers be tailored to the particular circumstances they present and account for the existence of any platform supplied features and mechanisms that address regulatory needs.

And some participants expressed skepticism regarding existing regulatory provisions, suggesting that they may be outmoded, may reflect erroneous assessments of regulatory needs, or may be designed to protect incumbents. They suggested that regulators reform such provisions to lift unnecessary burdens from both platform and traditional suppliers.

A range of stakeholders, including representatives from the sharing economy and traditional businesses, current and former regulators, and academics participated in the FTC workshop. The FTC also received and reviewed over 2,000 public comments related to the workshop. The full report is available online.