He has extensive experience working on several EU and Norwegian government financed research projects dealing with regulatory aspects of various technologies. His current research explores the power dynamics stemming from control over data and mediated communications, with a focus on how these evolving power paradigms are addressed by antitrust and data privacy laws. Dr Esayas has published in several renowned journals covering these issues and his work has received international recognition, including the FPF Privacy Papers for Policymakers Award. He earned his PhD from the University of Oslo in 2020 and his dissertation was awarded His Majesty the King’s Gold Medal by the Norwegian monarchy. As a visiting researcher at the Berkman Klein Center in 2023, Dr. Esayas contributed to a project that seeks to offer a global perspective on the societal impacts of AI and its governance. During his stay at the Berkman Klein Center, he also worked on a book that explores the interface between data privacy and antitrust laws, scheduled for publication by Oxford University Press in 2024.
