Code is Law? Blockchain Technology and the Future of Antitrust Law (Thibault Schrepel of Codex and Free University of Amsterdam)
Thibault Schrepel joins the podcast to talk blockchain, antitrust and competition law. He is a professor at the Free University in Amsterdam and on the faculty of the Codex Center at Stanford University. At Stanford he is involved in the Computational Antitrust Project which works to foster the automation of antitrust procedures and the improvement of antitrust analysis. Thibault knew he wanted to pursue a career in antitrust on the very first day of his very first antitrust class during law school. As Thibault recalls, "I remember the very first day when I went to the antitrust class in law school. It was a two hour long class and after one hour, we had a break. I went to my friend, and I said, Well, that's it. That's what I want to do." Thibault is not just into antitrust. He is also really into tech and has a certificate from Harvard for Computer Science for Lawyers, so it makes sense that he likes to study the intersection of antitrust and blockchain technology. Through his study and passion for law and tech, Thibault has concluded that the maxim "code is law" might be true, but there is still a need for external rules to govern tech and computer code. This is especially true for blockchain because he believes that too can be used for anti-consumer and anti-competitive practices. But, Thibault also believes that technology also provides a unique opportunity to identify and protect against antitrust behavior. In fact, he just put out a book entitled Blockchain + Antitrust The Decentralization Formula that explores the relationship between blockchain and antitrust, providing a unique perspective on how law and technology could cooperate.