Banning apps that make it easier for people to live their lives is not the solution!

Digital inclusion Digital services Digitization Innovation

Tiptapp highlights a problem that is typical of the digital transformation that is at hand as innovative and useful new solutions challenge yesterday's regulation. Banning apps that make it easier for people to live their lives can never be a satisfactory solution. For the digitization of Sweden to be a success story, it requires political courage and an understanding of what the change means.

Tiptapp is an app that helps you find someone to take care of your waste. You set the price yourself and when the waste is delivered to the waste station, you receive a confirmation. Tiptapp takes 10% commission on the delivery. By spring, the app had been downloaded 100 000 times in the Stockholm region. Tiptapp is part of the growing sharing economy that is revolutionizing the economy and leading to an improved standard of living for more and more people.

The decision by the Environment Agency to ban the app is an interpretation of existing legislation - and it is of course right and proper that our commonly agreed laws are respected - but the decision by the Environment Agency also shows the unreasonableness of the current system. While the waste management of individuals may seem to be a small issue, the aggregate effect is significant. The same applies to all parts of society where new digital solutions are being created.

Sweden is still a pioneer, but much needs to be done to ensure that it remains at the forefront. One possible solution is to allow free zones for different technical solutions. For example, Stockholm could be granted an exemption from waste management legislation for a period of five years, precisely to find new technical solutions. This would be a good reform to make Sweden the country that is best at applying new technology.

For the digitization of Sweden to be a success story, political courage and an understanding of what the change means are required

It is clear that the new technologies will also have negative consequences, but the positives outweigh the negatives and societal change is inevitable. The challenge for policymakers is therefore to design systems that are robust and sustainable in the long run, where people do not fall through the cracks. However, banning apps that help people live their lives can never be a satisfactory solution.