Dr. Salomé Viljoen

Biography

Salomé Viljoen is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Law School, focusing on law, political economy, and data, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence. Her research critically examines platform power and information law, exploring structures of inequality and how law regulates social data. Her forthcoming work develops a theory around the affirmative and socially beneficial uses of social data, as well as the role of public agencies in governing and using this data for public governance. Additionally, she investigates the conditions under which datafication of social life can become morally and legally wrongful. Her academic contributions have been published in prominent law reviews such as the Yale Law Journal and Columbia Law Review, as well as in peer-reviewed journals like Big Data & Society. Viljoen also writes essays for platforms including Nature and The Guardian. Her diverse research interests lie at the intersection of law and technology, where she seeks to unpack the legal status of social data and its implications for the digital economy.

Research Interests