This paper presents a case study of the legal tensions and conflicts behind the regulation of Uber, one of the most famous tech firms in the peer-to-peer platform market, in the city of São Paulo, the largest Brazilian city. Covering the period of two years (2014-2016), the paper argues that the legal complexity of the debate became bigger in a short period and involved diverse actors and legal instruments. Based on a socio-legal approach, the paper investigates the mobilisation of resources and legal knowledge in the regulation of this tech firm and how it progressively involved the legislative, judiciary and executive powers. The study organises the regulatory conflict in three periods: 'trouble arises', 'battle of legal opinions' and 'experimental regulation'. Finally, it discusses the viability of comparative research in places with similar cultural and legal characteristics.
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Zanatta et al. (2018) studied this question.