Automation, Decentralisation
& Platforms

Automation Decentralisations_175x200

This theme explores the organisation and policies of the decentralised and automated economy which is underpinned by distributed ledgers and AI.

We seek to understand the new actors and activities in these markets, what challenges they raise for law and policy, and how other disciplines such as computer science, economics, ethics, and management can help us better regulate them.  

Co-led by Konstantinos Stylianou and Zihao Li, CREATe’s new research theme on Automation, Decentralisation and Platforms held its inaugural policy roundtable on 18 October 2024 and published a working paper to set the research agenda.

PROJECTS

Antitrust and Financial Regulation in the Decentralized Economy graphicProject: Automation, Decentralisation & PlatformsAntitrust and Financial Regulation in the Decentralized Economy
18 June 2025

Antitrust and Financial Regulation in the Decentralized Economy

The application of competition law (antitrust) in the decentralized economy presents unique challenges, and financial regulation is also struggling to…
decorative image generated with Dall-E 2 prompted repeatedly with "Data Protection Wiki"Project: Automation, Decentralisation & PlatformsData Protection Evidence Wiki: Engaging Empirical Evidence for Policy and Practice
10 December 2024

Data Protection Evidence Wiki: Engaging Empirical Evidence for Policy and Practice

The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a cornerstone in global data protection legislation. However, its real-world impact is…
Project: Automation, Decentralisation & PlatformsDB-COMP: A curated full-text searchable database of European Commission antitrust and merger caselaw
15 June 2024

DB-COMP: A curated full-text searchable database of European Commission antitrust and merger caselaw

The DB-COMP database is the first of its kind full-text searchable database of European Commission antitrust caselaw. It was initially…
Project: Automation, Decentralisation & PlatformsProject: Competition & MarketsProject: The Law of InnovationProject: The Political Economy of Digital RegulationPlatform regulation II (competition, contestability and innovation)
22 March 2023

Platform regulation II (competition, contestability and innovation)

Giants of the tech sector have been at the heart of competition law enforcement in recent years.  A considerable part…
Project: Automation, Decentralisation & PlatformsProject: Competition & MarketsVideo-sharing Platform Creativity (AHRC PEC)
19 February 2021

Video-sharing Platform Creativity (AHRC PEC)

Video-sharing platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, and TikTok advertise themselves as a creative paradise. Some scholars also believe these platforms…