Laura Higson-Bliss

Biography

Recently shortlisted and winner of a Keele Excellence Award 2023 for External Engagement with Research, Laura graduated from Edge Hill University in 2013 with a degree in Law (LLB Hons) and completed an LLM by Research in 2016. Her Master’s focused on justiciability and the UK judiciaries approach to understanding when a matter is outside the jurisdiction of the court. In 2019, Laura completed her PhD thesis ‘Legality, Social Media and the Criminal Law’, which explores the criminal laws application to inappropriate behaviour online. She has presented her research both nationally and internationally.

Laura joined Keele Law School in 2021 as a Lecturer in Law, having previously held a Teaching Fellowship at the University of Birmingham. Prior to that, Laura was a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) at Edge Hill University. She has extensive teaching experience in Criminal Law, Law and New technologies, Media Law, Human Rights and Criminal Justice and Public Law. Laura is also a trustee for Citizens Advice Wigan.

Laura has twice appeared as a panellist on the BBC’s ‘The Big Questions’ as an expert on social media and freedom of expression. She has been interviewed on several occasions for both local and national radio on the impacts of online abuse. She has also had several publications with The Conversation.

Laura, alongside other colleagues at Edge Hill University, has worked with Cheshire Police to help create a teaching scheme for young people on the dangers of legal highs. She has also conducted teaching sessions with young people looking at the legal ramifications of irresponsible social media usage.

Laura is a member of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Ethics Committee and lead for Law and Ethics for the Digital Society Institute here at Keele. She is also an active member of the SLS and a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Laura also helps run the Law Schools social media accounts and is the International Foundation Year Link Tutor for NAVITAS. In 2023, Laura was added to the Faculty’s Research Strategy Group: Environment and Research Culture.

Research and scholarship

Laura’s research primarily focuses on the use of the criminal law to control inappropriate behaviour online, in particular, online abuse. Her PhD explores several Acts of Parliament including, though not limited to, the Malicious Communications Act 1988, the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, and the Communications Act 2003 and how they are used by law enforcement to curtail unlawful behaviour on social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter. Her thesis argues that the current adaptation of these Acts in a social media context breaches the basic principle of legality in the criminal law. Laura has signed a book contract with Routledge to publish her PhD as monograph, which is due to be published in Autumn 2024. In 2022, she was successfully awarded funding from the SLS to host a conference exploring ‘Contemporary Social and Legal Issues in a Social Media-Age’ with an edited collected due in 2025 stemming from this conference.

Laura has used her research to submit evidence to the Law Commission and the House of Lords enquiry into Freedom of Expression. Laura’s research interests fall broadly within the scope of social media and the law (both criminal and civil), human rights and policing and public law, in particular, legality and the rule of law. 

Laura is happy to supervise students working in the fields of social media regulation, freedom of expression and/or the right to privacy, policing, and online abuse. She is currently lead supervisor for a funded PhD student exploring digital contact and looked after children and second supervisor for a funded PhD student exploring ‘sexting’ and the law and another project looking at young people perceptions of online ‘harms’.

Laura has further completed an MA Diploma in Higher Education in June 2023 and is a peer reviewer for The Law Teacher journal. 

Teaching

Undergraduate Teaching

• Criminal Law
• Law and New Technologies
• Foundations of Law (Module Leader)
• Introduction to Law (Module Leader)
• University Research Portfolio (Module Leader)
• Transnational Crime
• Legal Essentials
• Advanced Criminal Law (Module Leader)
• Social Media and the Law (Module Leader)

Postgraduate Teaching

• AI and New Technologies
• Safeguarding Adults
• Contemporary Issues in Child Law.

Conferences and media

Laura has spoken extensively on her research in both the traditional academic setting and with media outlets.

Funded Conference Papers:

• Higson-Bliss, L. (2022) ‘Embedding the harm principle in online regulation: the old age concern of freedom of expression versus the right to privacy’ Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference, York University, 7 April 2022 (SLSA bursary & Keele University Research Fund)
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2022) ‘An abolitionist feminist approach to online abuse’ Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference, York University, 7 April 2022 (SLSA bursary & Keele University Research Fund)
• Bliss, L. (2019) ‘Historical Institutional Abuse: Misogyny Online’ Human Rights Centre Annual Postgraduate Conference, Queen’s University Belfast, 7 June 2019 (Edge Hill University Research Fund)
• Bliss, L. (2018) ‘The Law, Social Media and the Victimisation of Women: A UK Study’ Social Media and Society Conference, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, 19 July 2018 (Edge Hill University Research Fund)
• Bliss, L. (2017) ‘The Law and the Trolling of Women Online’ Sociology and Social Media: Problems and Prospects, Goldsmiths University, 2 December 2017 (Sociological Review)
• Bliss, L. (2017) ‘The Law, Social Media and the Victimisation of Women’ Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference, Newcastle University, 5-7 April 2017 (Edge Hill University Research Fund)

Non-funded Conference Papers:

• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023) 'Reflecting on game-based learning' Legal Education Games: Evaluation, Network, Dissemination (LEGEND), University of Leeds, 5 September 2023
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023) 'Using the criminal law to regulate behavior on social media platforms' School of Computing and Mathematics Research Seminar Series, Keele University, 9 August 2023
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023) ‘Reflecting on reflection: a law lecturer’s first year in post’ Law Teacher Association Roadshow, Keele University, 13 June 2023
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023) 'Social Media: The Changing Nature of Politics and Politicians - from MPs to 'Celebrities' The continuing crisis: Exploring the moral significance of the developments in politics, economic policy and the law since the 2008 banking crisis, Keele University, 27 March 2023
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023), ‘Play-based learning in Foundations of Law’ Legal Education Games: Evaluation, Network, Dissemination (LEGEND), 10 January 2023
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2022) ‘Online Harms and Journalism’ Conversative Party Conference (Prospect Magazine), Birmingham, 4 October 2022.
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2022) ‘Revamping the traditional presentation: using technology to make a more inclusive environment’ Keele Education Conference 2022, Keele University, 14 January 2022
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2020) ‘Expanding the Field: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly when it comes to Social Media’ Women in the Field, University of Birmingham, 10 September 2020
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2020) ‘Legality, Social Media and the Criminal Law’ SLS Conference 2020, 4 September 2020
• Bliss, L. (2018) ‘#IsMisogynyTrending? Social Media Abuse and Trolling Women’ Festival of Ideas 2018, Edge Hill University, 2 June 2018
• Bliss, L. (2017) ‘The Law, Social Media and the Victimisation of Women’ Early Careers Research Conference, Edge Hill University, 5 July 2017 (Poster Presentation)
• Bliss, L. (2017) ‘Feminist Research and Philosophical Hermeneutics: Overlaps and Synergies’ Socio-Legal Studies Association Annual Conference, Newcastle University, 5-7 April 2017 (Joint Paper)
• Bliss, L. (2015) ‘Non-justiciability: A Get Out of Jail Free Card?’ Department of Law and Criminology Research Seminar, Edge Hill University, 25 March 2015

Media:

• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023) ‘The Online Safety Bill: What does it mean?’ BBC Radio Stoke, 21 September 2023
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023) ‘Twitter X: what is it all about?’ BBC Radio Stoke, 24 July 2023
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023) ‘Threads: what is it all about?’ BBC Radio Kent, 6 July 2023
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023) ‘Cyberflashing’ BBC Radio Stoke, 3 February 2023
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023) ‘The Online Safety Bill and criminal liability for social media bosses’ BBC Radio Kent, 17 January 2023
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2023) ‘The Online Safety Bill and young people’ BBC Radio Stoke, 16 January 2023
• Pénard, C. (2023) ‘Lutter contre le harcèlement des adolescents’ Radio France International, 5 January 2023 < https://www.rfi.fr/fr/podcasts/accents-d-europe/20230105-lutter-contre-le-harcèlement-des-adolescents?ref=fb>
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2022) ‘The purpose of social media’ BBC Radio Kent, 7 November 2022
• Khatsenkova, S. (2022) ‘Will the death of a British teenager hold social media accountable?’ Euronews, 18 November 2022
• Boyd P.J. (2022) ‘Will the Online Safety Bill keep journalism safe alongside its audience’ Vuelio Blog, 13 October 2022
• Chocolate Law and Dinosaurs: Podcast. (2022) ‘Queen Elizabeth II (and Larry the Cat too)’, 4 October 2022
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2022) ‘Nadine Dorris, Tic Tok and the Online Safety Bill’ BBC Three Counties Radio, 27 May 2022
• Barrett, A. (2022) ‘The Online Safety Bill: How the UK’s changing internet laws may affect you’ BBC Science Focus, 6 April 2022
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2022) ‘Teenager jailed for sending racist tweet to Marcus Rashford’ BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester, 30 March 2022
• Shone, E. (2021) ‘Why ending online anonymity is not the “quick solution” to social media abuse’ National World, 20 October 2021
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2021) ‘Racism and Social Media’ BBC Radio West Midlands, 13 July 2021
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2021) ‘Social Media Boycott’ BBC Radio West Midlands, 30 April 2021
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2021) ‘Social Media and the Law’ BBC Radio West Midlands, 18 March 2021
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2020) ‘Social Media Abuse’ Times Radio, 19 September 2020
• Higson-Bliss, L. (2020) ‘The Big Questions- Do we put too much faith in technology?’ The BBC, Salford, 10 March 2020
• Bliss, L. (2018) ‘#IsMisogynyTrending? Social Media Abuse and Trolling Women’ Edge Hill University, 24 May 2018 (podcast)
• Bliss, L. (2018) ‘The Big Questions- Is Social Media Beyond Control?’ The BBC, Bath Spa University, 25 February 2018