Dr Zihao Li
- Lecturer in Law and Technology (Law)
Biography
Zihao Li is a Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Law and Technology, UKRI Metascience AI Fellow at CREATe Centre, School of Law, University of Glasgow. He is also a TTLF Fellow at Stanford University and has served as a Guest Lecturer at Trinity College Dublin. Zihao has an interdisciplinary background in both Computer Science (B.Eng.) and Law (LL.B., LL.M., Ph.D.). He previously studied at University of California, Irvine, USA, and holds LL.M. in Intellectual Property and Digital Economy from University of Glasgow. He obtained his PhD at Glasgow, where he delved into online algorithmic pricing and data protection law in both the EU and China, examining them from social, technological, and legal perspectives.
Zihao's research interests concentrate on the relationship between law, data and information technology. Recently, his research mainly covers data protection law, AI and regulation, blockchain and law, Internet and intellectual property, and electronic evidence forensics. His research has been published in top-tier interdisciplinary academic journals, conference proceedings and books, including Nature Machine Intelligence, Computer Law and Security Review, IEEE Communications Magazine, IEEE International Conference on Communications, and European Data Protection Law Review. He has also been invited to speak at several prestigious universities, including the University of Oxford, University of Cambridge, and Imperial College London (IC).
Zihao is actively involved in professional services within the academic community. He is an Associate Editor and a member of Editorial Board for the journal Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (SSCI, AHCI-indexed, Q1), published by the Nature. He also serves as an Editor for the journal Data & Policy, published by Cambridge University Press. He is a regular academic reviewer for prestigious journals in law and technology field.
At the CREATe Centre, Zihao co-leads the research theme on Automation, Decentralisation, and Platforms. He is the Founding Programme Director of the LLM Technology Law and Regulation, co-founder of the Scottish Law and Innovation Network (SCOTLIN) and the founding president of IP Society at the University of Glasgow. Drawing from his interdisciplinary and international expertise, Zihao's research seeks to explore the most effective way for regulating AI, data and other technologies, ensuring the protection of individuals in the increasingly widespread application of big data, machine learning and AI era.
Research interests
Because of Zihao's interdisciplinary background, his research interests concentrate on the relationship between law, data and information technology, particularly:
- Data Protection Law
- AI and Regulations
- Blockchain and Law
- Information Technology Law
- Internet and Intellectual Property Law
- Cybersecurity and E-evidence Forensics
Publications
Selected publications
Li, Zihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2109-9196
(2022)
Affinity-based algorithmic pricing: a dilemma for EU data protection law.
Computer Law and Security Review, 46,
105705.
(doi: 10.1016/j.clsr.2022.105705)
Li, Wenlong, Li, Zihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2109-9196, Li, Wenkai, Zhang, Yueming and Li, Aolan
(2025)
Mapping the empirical literature of the GDPR’s (in-)effectiveness: a systematic review.
Computer Law and Security Review, 57,
106129.
(doi: 10.1016/j.clsr.2025.106129)
Li, Zihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2109-9196
(2023)
Why the European AI Act transparency obligation is insufficient.
Nature Machine Intelligence, 5,
pp. 559-560.
(doi: 10.1038/s42256-023-00672-y)
Yi, Weiwei and Li, Zihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2109-9196
(2025)
Mapping the scholarship of the regulation of dark patterns: a systematic review of concepts, regulatory paradigms, and solutions from law and HCI perspectives.
Computer Law and Security Review, 59,
106225.
(doi: 10.1016/j.clsr.2025.106225)
Xu, Hao, Sun, Yunqing, Li, Zihao ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2109-9196, Sun, Yao
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4391-377X, Zhang, Lei
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4767-3849 and Zhang, Xiaoshuai
(2023)
deController: a Web3 native cyberspace infrastructure perspective.
IEEE Communications Magazine, 61(8),
pp. 68-74.
(doi: 10.1109/MCOM.005.2200481)
All publications
Grants
UKRI Metascience AI Fellowshop: Removing legal hurdles in copyright and data privacy for AI-driven research: unleashing the potential of AI for science ~£260,000
ESRC IAA & AHRC: Data Protection Evidence Wiki: Engaging Empirical Evidence for Policy and Practice ~£10,000
Modern Law Review (MLR) Scholarship
CSC Award for Outstanding Oversea Scholars
Supervision
Zihao is willing to supervise research students whose proposed research falls within his areas of interest, especially data protection law, AI regulations, and information technology law.
- Alharbi, Reem Mesallam Will corporate governance be enhanced or harmed by the incorporation of AI: case of Saudi Arabia
- Xu, Linyi
Regulating Hallucination Risks in Large Language Models Across Their Lifecycle: Lessons for China from the European Union
Teaching
Founding programme convenor of the LLM Technology Law and Regulation
Additional information
Professional Service:
- Associate Editor and member of Editorial Board:
- Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (SSCI, AHCI-indexed, Q1), published by the Nature.
- Editor: Data & Policy (published by Cambridge University Press)
- Academic Reviewer:
- International Data Privacy Law (Oxford; SSCI-Q1); Internet Policy Review; Journal of Engineering in Medicine (SCI); ACM Conference on Fairness, Accountability, and Transparency (ACM FAccT); GRUR International Journal of European and International IP Law (Oxford); Springer Nature Computer Science;
- Workshop Chair: IEEE Global Blockchain Conference - 1st Workshop on Exploring the Intersection of Blockchain and Policy: Shaping the Future of Decentralization
- Interviewed by China Central Television (CCTV) on behalf of researchers from University of Glasgow in 2020.
Professional Membership:
- IEEE Member: Society on Social Implications of Technology
- Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Member
- Co-founder of Scottish Law and Innovation Network (SCOTLIN)
Guest Lecturer at School of Law, Trinity College Dublin
- Taught LLM course: Intellectual Property Law and Emerging Technologies
