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 emerging technologies. The project examines a fundamental challenge in regulating image-based sexual abuse (IBSA): the wrongfulness of distributing an intimate image can not be determined from the content of the image itself. Instead, it is dependent on consent, the circumstances surrounding the distribution and the legal interests which are engaged.

Drawing from criminal law doctrine and the normative theories of consent, sexual autonomy and privacy, my thesis evaluates how these contextual elements of wrongdoing can be accommodated by the rapidly advancing automated systems of online platform regulation. In particular, this project allocates particular attention to authentic intimate imagery, its unauthorised redistribution and the challenges emerging from AI-generated deepfakes.

It critically evaluates the relationship between technological detection and legal decision-making, assessing what automated systems are able to establish about potentially abusive content whilst simultaneously considering the evidential limitations of such determinations. This project considers a variety of detection technologies including, but not limited to, artificial intelligence, perceptual hashing and automated content classification. It assesses these alongside the legal and procedural safeguards required when platforms intervene in suspected cases of intimate image abuse.

Using doctrinal, conceptual, and normative analysis, this research critically evaluates the criminal law of England and Wales and the regulatory framework which was established by the Online Safety Act 2023. In sum, it seeks to develop a principled, consent-focused approach to automated detection and platform governance, balancing effective protection for victim-survivors with the wider public's rights to privacy, sexual autonomy, and fundamental rights.

Research Areas

• Criminal Law and Criminal Justice
• 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

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
• Centre for Law and Social Justice