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Staff Profile

Professor Ben Farrand

Professor in Law & Emerging Technologies

  • Email: ben.farrand@ncl.ac.uk
  • Address: Â鶹´«Ã½ Law School,
    19-24 Windsor Terrace
    Â鶹´«Ã½
    NE1 7RU
Background

Ben joined the Â鶹´«Ã½ Law School in April 2019, having previously been an Associate Professor at the University of Warwick School of Law from September 2015, and Lecturer for Intellectual Property Law and Policy at the University of Strathclyde from April 2012. His research is interdisciplinary and focuses on the interactions between law and politics in the regulation of new technologies, ranging from digital copyright to controlling the transfer of counterfeit goods across uncertain borders. He has published the book 'Networks of Power in Digital Copyright Law and Policy: Political Salience, Expertise and the Legislative Process' in 2014, which was subsequently published as a paperback at the end of September 2015. He has published in journals such as the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Intellectual Property Quarterly, the Journal of Common Market Studies, European Security, Crime, Law and Social Change and the Journal of European Integration.  He is currently Principal Investigator on the ESRC DiscribeHub Digital Sovereignty by Design project, which studies EU-UK relations, geopolitics and regulation in the microprocessor industry, and Co-Investigator on the EPSRC AGENCY project, focusing on citizen agency in a world of complex online harms.


Ben has successfully supervised multiple PhD projects to completion, including in the fields of cybersecurity and international cooperation; cybersecurity in the context of financial sector governance; and digital activism in the form of 'hacktivism'. He has also acted as external jury member on a number of PhD vivas in the UK and internationally. He has taught on a variety of different subjects, including:

  • Law and technology governance
  • Intellectual property
  • Digital copyright law
  • Governance and human enhancement
  • Social media regulation
  • Cybersecurity and internet governance
  • Contract law
  • European Union law
  • International trade.


Ben holds a PhD in Law from the European University Institute, as well as an LLM in European, International and Comparative Laws. He also holds an MSc in Political Research, and an LLM in Commercial Law. He is a Senior Fellow of Advance HE, and holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Academic Studies. In 2016, he was awarded Erasmus Jean Monnet Module funding to run courses in European Intellectual Property and Policy-Making. Ben acts as Law, Governance and New Technologies thematic lead for the Â鶹´«Ã½ Centre of Research Excellence in Cybersecurity & Resilience, and is a member of the Â鶹´«Ã½ Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (Human, Organisational and Regulatory Aspects). He is currently a member of the ESRC Peer Review College.

Research

Research area

Ben's research is interdisciplinary and focuses on the interactions between law and politics in the regulation of new technologies, ranging from cybersecurity and the mitigation of online harms, to digital copyright enforcement, to the controlling the transfer of counterfeit goods across uncertain borders. He has published the book 'Networks of Power in Digital Copyright Law and Policy: Political Salience, Expertise and the Legislative Process' in 2014, which was subsequently published as a paperback at the end of September 2015. He has published in journals such as International Affairs, the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Intellectual Property Quarterly, the Journal of Common Market Studies, European Security, Journal of European Integration, Policy Studies, and Crime, Law and Social Change.


Research projects

Ben is currently Principal Investigator on the ESRC DiscribeHub Digital Sovereignty by Design project on EU-UK relations and the regulation of the semiconductor industry, and a Co-Investigator on the £3.5 million ESPRC-funded project 'Agency: Assuring Citizen Agency in a World with Complex Online Harms', acting as thematic lead for the Work Package on the Legal and Ethical Regulation of Complex Online Harms. He is also involved in the FAMOUS (Fake Activity Market Observation for Unethical Services) project funded by the European Media and Information Fund.


Editorial work

Series editor, Routledge Contemporary European Studies


Doctoral Supervision

Mr Igor Szpotakowski, 'The Digitalisation of Civil Justice in Chinese and English Law: Underlined values and the limits of legal transplants'

Mr Mauricio Figueroa Torres, 'Exploring the Sociotechnical Concerns of Digital Reincarnation: A Legal Analysis of "ghostbots"'

Ms Nifemi Adesina, 'Feminist digital constitutionalism and the complexities of FemTech'

Mr Isaac Juma, 'Shifting paradigms in economic regulation: Adaptive ex-ante regulation and pro-competition dynamics in the digital economy'


I am happy to provide supervision in areas relating to cybersecurity, regulation and governance in the context of technologies, interdisciplinary studies of law and technology, and digital intellectual property rights.




Teaching

Teaching for academic year 2024/2025

  • LLM:
  • LAW8577: Law & Emerging Technologies;
  • LAW8581: Social Media Regulation
Publications

  • Articles

    • Turobov A, Carrapico H, Farrand B. . Governance 2026, 39(2), e70112.
    • Farrand B. . European Journal of Risk Regulation 2026, epub ahead of print.
    • Farrand B. . European Journal of Risk Regulation 2025, 16(Special Issue 1), 279-293.
    • Carrapico H, Farrand B. . Politics & Governance 2025, 13, 10331.
    • Farrand B. . Computer Law & Security Review 2025, 59, 106224.
    • Farrand B, Carrapico H, Turobov A. . International Affairs 2024, 100(6), 2379-2397.
    • Farrand B. . Policy Studies 2024, 45(5), 730-749.
    • Farrand B. . Journal of Media Law 2024, 16(2), 240-262.
    • Carrapico H, Farrand B. . Journal of Common Market Studies 2024, 62(S1), 147-158.
    • Farrand B. . European Law Open 2023, 2(1), 106-127.
    • Farrand B. . European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 2023, 29, 477-493.
    • Farrand B, Carrapico H. . European Security 2022, 31(3), 435-453.
    • Carrapico H, Farrand B. . Journal of Common Market Studies 2021, 59(5), 1160-1176.
    • Farrand B, Carrapico H. . Journal of Contemporary European Research 2021, 17(2), 148-165.
    • Carrapico H, Farrand B. . Journal of European Integration 2020, 42(8), 1111-1126.
    • Farrand B. . European Security 2019, 28(1), 22-39.
    • Farrand B. . European Intellectual Property Review 2019, 41(2), 65-69.
    • Farrand B. . European Politics and Society 2018, 19(3), 338-354.
    • Farrand B. . Journal of Common Market Studies 2017, 55(6), 1306-1321.
    • Carrapico H, Farrand B. . Crime, Law and Social Change 2017, 67(3), 245-263.
    • Farrand B. . European Journal of Risk Regulation 2016, 7(2), 269-273.
    • Farrand B. . European Intellectual Property Review 2016, 38(6), 321-325.
    • Farrand B. . Intellectual Property Quarterly 2016, 2016(3), 260-277.
    • Farrand B. . Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 2015, 35(3), 487-514.
    • Farrand B. . Journal of Medical Law and Ethics 2014, 2(2-3), 69-87.
    • Farrand B. . Journal of Information Technology and Politics 2013, 10(4), 404-422.
    • Farrand B, Carrapico H. . Journal of Information Technology and Politics 2013, 10(4), 357-368.
    • Farrand B. . European Intellectual Property Review 2012, 34(5), 297-304.
    • Farrand B. . Revista de Internet, Derecho y Política 2012, 14, 5-33.
    • Farrand B. . Journal of Internet, Law and Politics 2012, 14(1), 5-18.
    • Farrand B, Carrapico H. . Crime, Law and Social Change 2012, 57(4), 373-401.
    • Farrand B. . European Intellectual Property Review 2010, 32(10), 536-541.
    • Farrand B. . European Intellectual Property Review 2009, 31(10), 508-513.

  • Authored Books

    • Farrand B. . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2026.
    • Farrand B. . London: Routledge, 2014.

  • Book Chapters

    • Carrapico H, Farrand B. . In: Magone J, ed. A Research Agenda for European Union Politics. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2026, pp.211-230.
    • Farrand B. . In: Barker, K; Jurasz, O, ed. Routledge Handbook of Social Media, Law and Society. Oxon: Routledge, 2026.
    • Farrand B. . In: Wagner, B; Kettemann, MC; Vieth-Ditlmann, K; Montgomery, S, ed. Research Handbook on Human Rights and Digital Technology: Global Politics, Law and International Relations. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2025, pp.54-68.
    • Farrand B. . In: Davies, G; Carrapico, H, ed. UK-EU Police and Judicial Cooperation Post-Brexit: Implementing the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Oxford Dublin: Hart Publishing, 2025, pp.287-298.
    • Farrand B. . In: Davies, G; Carrapico, H, ed. UK-EU Police and Judicial Cooperation Post-Brexit: Implementing the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Oxford Dublin: Hart Publishing, 2025, pp.231-242.
    • Farrand B. . In: Stamatoudi, I, ed. Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Cultural Heritage. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2022, pp.502-516.
    • Farrand B, Carrapico H. . In: Lavorgna A; Holt T, ed. Researching Cybercrimes: Methodologies, Ethics, and Critical Approaches. London: Palgrave, 2021, pp.23-41.
    • Farrand B. . In: Torremanns, P; Stamatoudi, I, ed. EU Copyright Law: A Commentary. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2021, pp.967-988.
    • Farrand B. . In: Calcara, A;Csernatoni, R;Lavallée, C, ed. Emerging Security Technologies and EU Governance: Actors, Practices and Processes. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge, 2020, pp.192-205.
    • Farrand B, Rizzi M. . In: Nanopoulos, E; Vergis, F, ed. The Crisis Behind the Eurocrisis: The Eurocrisis as a Multidimensional Systemic Crisis of the EU. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019, pp.23-48.
    • Farrand B. . In: Creutzfeldt, N; Mason, M; McConnachie, K, ed. Routledge Handbook of Socio-Legal Theory and Methods. London: Routledge, 2019.
    • Farrand B. . In: Wagner, B; Kettemann, C; Vieth, K, ed. Research Handbook on Human Rights and Digital Technology: Global Politics, Law and International Relations. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2019, pp.53-72.
    • Carrapico H, Farrand B. . In: Ripoll Servent, A; Trauner, F, ed. The Routledge Handbook of Justice and Home Affairs Research. London: Routledge, 2017, pp.146-156.
    • Farrand B, Carrapico H. . In: Bures, O; Carrapico, H, ed. Security Privatization: How Non-security-related Private Businesses Shape Security Governance. Cham: Springer, 2017, pp.197-218.
    • Farrand B. . In: Stamatoudi, IA, ed. New Developments in EU and International Copyright Law. Alphen aan den Rijn: Kluwer Law International, 2016, pp.397-416.
    • Carrapico H, Farrand B. . In: Fletcher, M; Herlin-Karnell, E; Matera, C, ed. The European Union as an Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. London: Routledge, 2016, pp.459-484.
    • Farrand B. . In: Helena Carrapico and Benjamin Farrand, ed. The Governance of Online Expression in a Networked World. London and New York: Routledge, 2015, pp.48-66.
    • Farrand B, Carrapico H. . In: Helena Carrapico and Benjamin Farrand, ed. The Governance of Online Expression in a Networked World. London and New York: Routledge, 2015, pp.1-12.
    • Farrand B. . In: Stamatoudi, I; Torremans, P, ed. EU Copyright Law: A Commentary. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2014, pp.988-1018.
    • Daly A, Farrand B. . In: Devoss, DN; Rife, M, ed. Cultures of Copyright: Contemporary Intellectual Property. Berlin: Peter Lang, 2014, pp.26-40.
    • Farrand B. . In: Cerillo-i-Martinez, A; Peguera, M; Peña-López, I; Vilasau Solana, M, ed. Net Neutrality and Other Challenges for the Internet. Barcelona: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya Publishing, 2011.

  • Conference Proceedings (inc. Abstracts)

    • Kalameyets M, Owens R, Lam C, Olabode S, Vlachokyriakos V, Farrand B, Aidinlis S, Shi L. . In: IUI '26: Proceedings of the 31st International Conference on Intelligent User Interfaces. 2026, Paphos, Cyprus: ACM.
    • Jalilzade E, Kalameyets M, Malviya S, Owens R, Katsigiannis S, Farrand B, Shi L. . In: IEEE BigData 2025 - 1st International Workshop on Harnessing Big Data Analytics with Large Language Models. 2025, Macau SAR, China: IEEE. In Press.
    • Farrand B. . In: KnowRight 2010: Knowledge Rights - Legal, Societal and Related Technological Aspects. 2010, University of Vienna, Austria: Osterreichische Computer Gesellschaft.

  • Edited Book

    • Carrapico H, Farrand B, ed. . London and New York: Routledge, 2015.

  • Working Paper

    • Owens R, Copilah-Ali J, Kolomeets M, Malviya S, Markeviciute K, Olabode S, Spiliotopoulos T, Wu H, Nijia Zhang V, Coopamootoo K, Durrant A, Elliott K, Katsigiannis S, Neesham C, Shi L, Farrand B. . 2023.