Staff Profile

Ben joined the Newcastle University 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 Newcastle Centre of Research Excellence in Cybersecurity & Resilience, and is a member of the Newcastle 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 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 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.

Benjamin Farrand on ResearchGate

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.

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"'

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 for academic year 2024/2025

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

• Articles

  • Farrand B. The Ordoliberal Internet? Continuity and Change in the EU’s approach to the Governance of Cyberspace. European Law Open 2023, 2(1), 106-127.
  • Farrand B. Regulating misleading political advertising on online platforms: an example of regulatory mercantilism in digital policy. Policy Studies 2023, Epub ahead of print.
  • Farrand B. 'Is This a Hate Speech?' The Difficulty in Combating Radicalisation in Coded Communications on Social media Platforms. European Journal on Criminal Policy and Research 2023, 29, 477-493.
  • Farrand B, Carrapico H. Digital Sovereigntyand Taking Back Control: From Regulatory Capitalism to Regulatory Mercantilism in EU Cybersecurity. European Security 2022, 31(3), 435-453.
  • Carrapico H, Farrand B. When Trust Fades, Facebook Is No Longer a Friend: Shifting Privatisation Dynamics in the Context of Cybersecurity as a Result of Disinformation, Populism and Political Uncertainty. Journal of Common Market Studies 2021, 59(5), 1160-1176.
  • Farrand B, Carrapico H. “People like that cannot be trusted": populist and technocratic political styles, legitimacy, and distrust in the context of Brexit negotiations. Journal of Contemporary European Research 2021, 17(2), 148-165.
  • Carrapico H, Farrand B. Discursive continuity and change in the time of Covid-19: the case of EU cybersecurity policy. Journal of European Integration 2020, 42(8), 1111-1126.
  • Farrand B. “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much”: The essential role of EU agencies in combatting the sale of counterfeit goods. European Security 2019, 28(1), 22-39.
  • Farrand B. "Towards a modern, more European copyright framework", or, how to rebrand the same old approach?. European Intellectual Property Review 2019, 41(2), 65-69.
  • Farrand B. Combatting physical threats posed via digital means: the European Commission’s developing approach to the sale of counterfeit goods on the Internet. European Politics and Society 2018, 19(3), 338-354.
  • Farrand B. Bold and newly Independent, or Isolated and Cast Adrift? The Implications of Brexit for Intellectual Property Law and Policy. Journal of Common Market Studies 2017, 55(6), 1306-1321.
  • Carrapico H, Farrand B. ‘Dialogue, partnership and empowerment for network and information security’: the changing role of the private sector from objects of regulation to regulation shapers. Crime, Law and Social Change 2017, 67(3), 245-263.
  • Farrand B. Two continents, divided by deep philosophical waters? Why geographical indications pose a challenge to the completion of the TTIP. European Journal of Risk Regulation 2016, 7(2), 269-273.
  • Farrand B. The EU Portability Regulation: one small step for cross-border access, one giant leap for Commission copyright policy?. European Intellectual Property Review 2016, 38(6), 321-325.
  • Farrand B. Human embryonic stem cells and patent law in the EU and China: Convergence in standards through divergence in institutions. Intellectual Property Quarterly 2016, 2016(3), 260-277.
  • Farrand B. Lobbying and Lawmaking in the European Union: The Development of Copyright Law and the Rejection of the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 2015, 35(3), 487-514.
  • Farrand B. Conceptualising Conscientious Objection as Resistance. Journal of Medical Law and Ethics 2014, 2(2-3), 69-87.
  • Farrand B. Regulatory capitalism, decentred enforcement and its legal consequences for digital expression: the use of copyright law to restrict freedom of speech online. Journal of Information Technology and Politics 2013, 10(4), 404-422.
  • Farrand B, Carrapico H. Networked governance and the regulation of expression on the internet: the blurring of the role of public and private actors as content regulators. Journal of Information Technology and Politics 2013, 10(4), 357-368.
  • Farrand B. Too much is never enough? The 2011 Copyright in Sound Recordings Extension Directive. European Intellectual Property Review 2012, 34(5), 297-304.
  • Farrand B. L’emulació és la forma d’adulació més sincera: Videojocs retro, distribució de ROM i drets d’autor [Emulation is the most sincere form of flattery: Retro videogames, ROM distribution and copyright]. Revista de Internet, Derecho y Política 2012, 14, 5-33.
  • Farrand B. Emulation is the most sincere form of flattery: retro videogames, ROM distribution and copyright. Journal of Internet, Law and Politics 2012, 14(1), 5-18.
  • Farrand B, Carrapico H. Copyright law as a matter of (inter)national security? - The attempt to securitise commercial infringement and its spillover onto individual liability. Crime, Law and Social Change 2012, 57(4), 373-401.
  • Farrand B. The Digital Economy Act: Cause for celebration or cause for concern?. European Intellectual Property Review 2010, 32(10), 536-541.
  • Farrand B. The case that never was: an analysis of the Apple iTunes case presented by the Commission and potential future issues. European Intellectual Property Review 2009, 31(10), 508-513.

• Authored Book

  • Farrand B. Networks of Power in Digital Copyright Law and Policy: Political Salience, Expertise and the Legislative Process. London: Routledge, 2014.

• Book Chapters

  • Farrand B. Born digital: Law, policy, and the preservation of videogames as digital cultural heritage. In: Stamatoudi, I, ed. Research Handbook on Intellectual Property and Cultural Heritage. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2022, pp.502-516.
  • Farrand B, Carrapico H. The How and Why of Cybercrime: Ideas, Interests and Institutions as Drivers of an EU security-governance approach. In: Lavorgna A; Holt T, ed. Researching Cybercrimes: Methodologies, Ethics, and Critical Approaches. London: Palgrave, 2021, pp.23-41.
  • Farrand B. From a 'Digital Agenda for Europe', to a 'Digital Single Market', to a 'Europe Fit for the Digital Age': A Decade of European Union Copyright Policy in the Shadow of Crises. In: Torremanns, P; Stamatoudi, I, ed. EU Copyright Law: A Commentary. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2021, pp.967-988.
  • Farrand B. Managing security uncertainty with emerging technologies: the example of the governance of neuroprosthetic research. 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. There Is No (Legal) Alternative: Codifying Economic Ideology into Law. 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. Intellectual Property, Biotechnology and Process Tracing: Applying Political Research Methods to Legal Study. In: Creutzfeldt, N; Mason, M; McConnachie, K, ed. Routledge Handbook of Socio-Legal Theory and Methods. London: Routledge, 2019.
  • Farrand B. Digital Copyright and Human Rights: A Balancing of Competing Obligations, or Is There No Conflict?. 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. Cyber Crime as a Fragmented Policy Field in the Context of the Area of Freedom, Security and Justice. 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. Blurring Public and Private: Cybersecurity in the Age of Regulatory Capitalism. 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. The Future of Copyright Enforcement Online: Caught Between Formal and Informal Governance. 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. The European Union’s fight against cybercrime: policy, legal and practical challenges. 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. Regulatory capitalism, decentered enforcement, and its legal consequences for digital expression: the use of copyright law to restrict freedom of speech online. 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. Networked governance and the regulation of expression on the internet: The blurring of the role of public and private actors as content regulators. 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. The digital agenda for Europe, the economy and its impact upon the development of EU copyright policy. In: Stamatoudi, I; Torremans, P, ed. EU Copyright Law: A Commentary. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 2014, pp.988-1018.
  • Daly A, Farrand B. Scarlet v. SABAM: an emerging backlash against corporate copyright lobbies in Europe?. In: Devoss, DN; Rife, M, ed. Cultures of Copyright: Contemporary Intellectual Property. Berlin: Peter Lang, 2014, pp.26-40.
  • Farrand B. "Piracy - it’s a crime": the criminalisation of digital copyright infringement. 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. Abstract)

  • Farrand B. Protecting music, not markets: the conflict between copyright collecting societies and single market aims. 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. The Governance of Online Expression in a Networked World. 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. Reimagining AI Governance: a Response by AGENCY to the UK Government's White Paper AI Regulation. 2023.