Mr Joshua Ward

Profile

I am a Doctoral Researcher at the School of Law of the University of Leeds. I am grateful to have been awarded the School of Law Doctoral Scholarship funding my research. Before joining Leeds, I completed my LLM in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice at the University of Edinburgh, where I was awarded the Tercentenary Award for Excellence Scholarship. At the undergraduate level, I graduated with a First-Class degree in Law from Kingston University London, being awarded the Course Directors Prize for the highest overall performance. I currently have an article at the revision stage with The Journal of Criminal Law.

Research interests

My research sits at the intersection of technology law, online safety, human rights, criminal law and justice. My doctoral research examines the regulation of image-based sexual abuse (IBSA) on end-to-end encrypted services, with a particular focus on the deployment of artificial intelligence and algorithmic technologies to detect and remove illegal imagery.

The project begins by considering the framework set out in the Online Safety Act 2023. It critically examines how obligations to prevent and detect online harms sit alongside users’ privacy, freedom of expression, and the protection of secure, encrypted communication methods. More specifically, I am interested in the socio-legal, normative implications of the deployment of technologies such as client-side scanning and perceptual hashing, and the safeguards necessitated to ensure that automated systems operate proportionately with Articles 8 and 10 ECHR.

Research Areas

• Technology and Internet Law
• AI Governance and Regulation
• Data Protection and Information Law
• Privacy Law
• Algorithmic Detection and Regulation
• Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA)
• Technology-Facilitated Sexual Offences
• End-to-End Encryption and State Surveillance
• Human Rights and Emerging Technology
• Criminal Law and Criminal Justice

Professional Memberships

• The Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn
• British and Irish Law Education and Technology Association (BILETA)
• Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA)
• University and College Union (UCU)

Qualifications

• PhD in Law, University of Leeds (2026-Present)
• LLM in Criminal Law and Criminal Justice, The University of Edinburgh (2025-26)
• LLB (Hons) Law, Kingston University London (2022-25)

Research groups and institutes

• Centre for Business Law and Practice
• Centre for Criminal Justice Studies