Amirhossein Salehi

My doctoral research investigates the regulation of digital gatekeepers through the theoretical framework of Luhmannian social systems theory and Teubnerian societal constitutionalism. I develop a counterfactual construct — the "Digital Leviathan" — to model the expansionary logic of digital platforms operating in multi-sided markets. This construct derives three predictable imperatives from profit-maximisation logic: datafication of user interactions, creation of lock-in effects, and engagement-driven envelopment of adjacent communicative spheres. The Digital Leviathan framework enables a structural assessment of whether EU digital regulation — principally the Digital Markets Act, the Digital Services Act, and the GDPR — operates as an effective constitutional counter-programme capable of taming platform power.

My methodology combines doctrinal and theoretical analysis with empirical computational methods. In the principal case study, I apply an adversarial multi-model LLM methodology (using GPT-4o, Claude, and DeepSeek as independent evaluators) to analyse 1,080 political advertisements from Meta's Ad Library relating to the Gaza conflict. This analysis reveals a systematic Hebrew-language enforcement gap, with violating content retained rather than removed — findings consistent with the Digital Leviathan's theoretical predictions about market-segmented enforcement. A comparative chapter examines Iranian digital gatekeepers, analysing cookie consent practices and data protection frameworks in a non-Western regulatory context.

My broader theoretical interests lie in digital constitutionalism, societal constitutionalism, and the normative legitimacy of platform governance. I am particularly interested in how constitutional concepts — originally developed to constrain state power — can be adapted to address the novel challenges posed by private digital power. My work engages with Kantian institutional design theory to develop normative principles for platform constitutionalisation.

Before coming to Oxford, I studied electrical engineering and philosophy of science at Sharif University of Technology and public international law at Shahid Beheshti University. I have professional experience in legal technology, regulatory consulting, and policy research.