WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice announced today that it will participate in the Computational Antitrust project, hosted by the Stanford University CodeX Center and created by Professor Thibault Schrepel.  The project brings together academics from law, computer science, and economics as well as developers, policymakers, and antitrust agencies from around the world to discuss how technology and automation can improve antitrust enforcement.

“There are important debates happening today about how we should enforce the antitrust laws, but everyone agrees that enforcement agencies should make decisions using the best tools available,” said Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division.  “We look forward to being part of this valuable dialog about antitrust enforcement.”

As part of the Computational Antitrust project, representatives from the Antitrust Division will participate in regular workshops and dialogs about how to integrate cutting-edge computational developments into antitrust law and policy.  The Antitrust Division’s initial representatives will be David Lawrence, Chief of the Competition Policy and Advocacy Section, and Eric Dunn, an attorney in that section.  The project’s focus is described in further detail in a recent paper by Professor Schrepel.

The division’s participation in the Computational Antitrust project builds on several other initiatives announced last year to increase the division’s capabilities and engagement in emerging technologies relevant to antitrust enforcement.  For example, the division has offered attorneys and staff the opportunity to take coursework focused on blockchain, artificial intelligence and Machine Learning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, and last year held a Public Workshop on Venture Capital and Antitrust, which was co-hosted with Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business and Stanford Law School.  Together, these efforts reflect a commitment to ensuring that the division remains at the leading edge of antitrust enforcement.

To learn more about the Computational Antitrust project and other participating agencies, please visit the project’s website.