Dr Kim Barker

Professional biography

Dr Barker's research interests focus on regulation of online multi-user environments, particularly social media and online games. Her areas of expertise include social media regulation, online abuse, particularly online misogyny and online violence against women, intellectual property law (copyright, digital copyright & online content creation), and aspects of online contractual regulation. Kim's interests lie in control of content and regulation of multi-user online environments including online gaming, and social media in particular.

Kim is interested in the intersection between user responsibility, platform provider responsibility and legal regulations. Her current research projects focus on the legal and regulatory challenges posed by online misogyny, online hate speech, online abuses and online violence against women, and gender-based abuses in online environments, nuanced areas of copyright and media responsibility, cultural transduction, and digital waste.

Dr Barker's research (with Dr Olga Jurasz) explores a number of aspects of online, text-based abuse, including consideration of online misogyny as a hate crime as well as legal regulation of online abuse. Her book 'Online misogyny as a hate crime: a challenge for (legal) regulation?' (authored with Dr Olga Jurasz) addresses some of these themes was published by Routledge in 2019. Kim has published research in all of these areas and presented her research regionally, nationally and internationally, in conferences as well as thorough keynote addresses. Her research has been funded by the Economic & Social Research Council, and British and Irish Law, Education and Technology Association (BILETA).

Kim is happy to supervise and discuss potential PhD projects in any of her areas of interest, but especially:

• Internet Law / Regulation / Social Media
• Online games / MMORPGs
• Online violence against women 
• Online misogyny 
• Internet Content Control 
• Copyright
• Digital Copyright
• Digital Media Uses & Abuses
• Law & Society
• Gender & The Law

Kim is an elected member of the Executive Committee of the British and Irish Law Education and Technology Association (BILETA). 

• Internet Law 
• Internet Regulation
• Law & Society
• Gender & The Law
• Intellectual Property Law
• Contract Law

Dr Barker's research in respect of online misogyny and the online abuse of women has been cited around the world. Her research expertise has been cited in Parliamentary reports and debates, as well as international reports relating to online violence against women, and online misogyny, and has been relied upon by non-governmental organisations, as well as by Governments. 

Dr Barker has contributed to a number of consultations in her areas of research and expertise. In respect of her work in the areas of internet regulation, and intellectual property, Kim has been responsible for authoring consultation responses in the UK and EU relating to copyright reform, Internet regulation, the proposed Digital Services Act, copyright exceptions, the future of foreign policy, and digital assets. 

In addition, through her research relating to online misogyny, and online violence against women, Dr Barker has contributed to a number of expert evidence submissions to the national and devolved governments, Select Committees of the UK Parliament, Independent Commissions in Scotland, and Northern Ireland, and governments further afield, including Australia. Dr Barker's expertise has contributed to submissions to the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women, the One Scotland Consultation on Amending Hate Crime Legislation in Scotland, the Australian Government's Online Safety Charter Consultation, and Women & Equalities Committee. These evidence contributions have led to Dr Barker's research being cited by the House of Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee in its Report on Sexual Harassment of Women and Girls in Public Spaces. Moreover, Dr Barker's research has been referenced by the Welsh Assembly, including by Leanne Wood AM ((First Minister's questions, Online Abuse of Women in Public Life (27 March 2019)).

Through her expertise, and engagement with policy / law reform, Dr Barker has participated in meetings with members of the Scottish Cabinet in respect of misogyny, and hate crime reform. In March 2019, Kim was invited by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) to speak at the UN Commission on the Status of Women event in New York, where her remarks focussed upon her research on online violence against women, online regulation of social media in respect of online violence, and a wide-ranging discussions concerning protecting women politicians from online violence. This was followed by a further invitation to discuss issues concerning online violence against women, and social media responsibility for such online abuse at the Internet Freedom Festival (IFF) in Valencia in April 2019.

Dr Barker has also delivered invitational keynote addresses on behalf of the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of South Korea (2019) online hate speech and the Women's Development Institute of the Government of the Republic of South Korea (2018) on social media regulation, and online gendered abuse. Dr Barker has been quoted widely in media and press articles on issues relating to her areas of research, and expertise, particularly in respect of intellectual property issues and internet regulation of online spaces, online games, and virtual worlds, but also in relation to her internationally leading expertise on online misogyny, and online violence against women. 

Kim has been quoted in WIRED News on issues relating to copyright in online games https://www.wired.co.uk/article/pubg-sues-fortnite-copyright-infringement, in Medium, on issues concerning criminality in virtual worlds https://medium.com/@benmunster_14443/is-it-a-sex-offence-if-youre-an-online-penguin-3e9db580e27d, in The Times on issues concerning online misogyny https://www.thetimes.co.uk/my-articles/abusing-women-online-should-be-a-hate-crime-n26t72fqj and the Sunday Times about the online abuse of women https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/academics-tell-bracadale-review-make-online-misogynistic-abuse-a-hate-crime-lfqcx2jt7.