Dr. Emily Laidlaw
Positions
Canada Research Chair - Cybersecurity Law
Faculty of Law
Associate Professor
Faculty of Law
Contact information
Phone number
Office: 403.220.7071
Location
Office: MFH4315
Background
Educational Background
PhD London School of Economics and Political Science, 2012
LLM London School of Economics and Political Science, 2007
JD University of Saskatchewan, 2002
BA Communications, Linfield University, 1998
Biography
Dr. Emily Laidlaw is a Canada Research Chair in cybersecurity law and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Law at the University of Calgary. She is also a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, an Associate Member of the University of Ottawa’s Centre for Law, Technology and Society and a Fellow of the Centre for Military, Security and Strategic Studies. She is currently serving as the Rovinescu Visiting Scholar on anti-hate speech at the University of Ottawa. Beyond academia, Dr. Laidlaw contributes her expertise on the boards of the National Cybersecurity Consortium and the Canadian Internet Society.
Her research centres on technology regulation, cybersecurity, and human rights, with particular emphasis on platform regulation, privacy, online harms, freedom of expression, and corporate governance. Dr. Laidlaw is the author of Regulating Speech in Cyberspace: Gatekeepers, Human Rights and Corporate Responsibility(Cambridge University Press, 2015) and co-editor, with Florian Martin-Bariteau, of the forthcoming book Security of Self: A Human-Centric Approach to Cybersecurity (Ottawa University Press, 2025).
Dr. Laidlaw’s academic journey began in the United Kingdom, where she earned her LLM and PhD from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and held her first professorship at the University of East Anglia Law School. She initially practised as a litigator and has since returned to legal practice, now operating her own law firm. In 2014, she joined the University of Calgary.
Her research bridges Canadian, UK, European, and international law, drawing on her extensive experience abroad. Dr. Laidlaw actively engages in law reform and consults for governments and organizations, contributing to projects on cybersecurity, online harms, misinformation and disinformation, defamation law, intimate image abuse, intermediary liability, and content moderation.
A dedicated public scholar, Dr. Laidlaw is deeply committed to knowledge engagement —whether through teaching, community events, public panels, conferences, judicial education, or testifying before government.
MORE INFORMATION
Co-Director, Canadian Network on Information and Security
Member, Institute for Security, Privacy and Information Assurance
Member of the Council of Canadian Academies (CCA) Expert Panel on Public Safety in the Digital Age
Editorial Board, European Journal of Law and Technology
Editorial Board, International Cybersecurity Law Review
Member Law, Society of Alberta
Research
Areas of Research
Courses
| Course number | Course title | Semester |
|---|---|---|
| LAW 565 | Internet Law | |
| LAW 693.01 | Privacy and Cybersecurity Law |
Projects
Awards
- Peak Scholar, University of Calgary. 2018
Publications
- Technology Mindfulness and the Future of the Tort of Privacy. Osgoode Hall Law Journal. (2022)
- Creating a Revenge Porn Tort for Canada. with Hilary Young. Supreme Court Law Review. (2020)
- Internet Intermediary Liability in Defamation Law. with Hilary Young. Osgoode Hall Law Journal. (2018)
- Re-Imagining Resolution of Online Defamation Disputes. Osgoode Hall Law Journal. (2018)
- Online Shaming and the Right to Privacy. Emily Laidlaw. 6(1) Laws. (2017)
- The responsibilities of free speech regulators: an analysis of the Internet Watch Foundation. Emily Laidlaw. 20(4) International Journal of Law and Information Technology. 312-345. (2012)
- A Framework for Identifying Internet Information Gatekeepers. Emily Laidlaw. 24(3) International Review of Law, Computers and Technology. 263-276. (2010)
- Private Power, Public Interest: An Examination of Search Engine Accountability. Emily Laidlaw. 17(1) International Journal of Law and Information Technology. 113-145. (2009)
- Regulating Speech in Cyberspace: Gatekeepers, Human Rights and Corporate Responsibility. Emily Laidlaw. Cambridge University Press. (2015)
- The Challenges Designing Intermediary Liability Laws. in Catherin Easton and David Mangan, eds, The Philosophical Foundations of Information Technology Law (Oxford University Press, 2023). (2022)
- Notice-and-Notice-Plus: A Canadian Perspective Beyond the Liability and Immunity Divide. in Giancarlo Frosio, ed, Online Intermediary Liability (Oxford University Press, 2020). (2021)
- Online Platform Responsibility and Human Rights. in Luca Belli and Nicolo Zingales, eds, Platform regulations: how platforms are regulated and how they regulate us. (2017)
- What is a joke? Mapping the path of a speech complaint on Social Networks. Emily Laidlaw. in Lorna Gillies and David Mangan, eds The Legal Challenges of Social Media. (2016)
- Myth or promise? The corporate social responsibilities of online service providers for human rights. Emily Laidlaw. in Luciano Floridi and Mariarosaria Taddeo (eds), Understanding Responsibilities of Online Service Providers in Information Societies. (2016)
- Mis- Dis- and Mal-Information and the Convoy: An Examination of the Roles and Responsibilities of Social Media. Public Order Emergency Commission. (2022)
- Are we asking too much from defamation law? Reputation systems, ADR, Industry Regulation and other Extra-Judicial Possibilities for Protecting Reputation in the Internet Age. Law Commission of Ontario: Defamation Law in the Internet Age project. (2017)
- Privacy and Cybersecurity in Digital Trade: The Challenge of Cross Border Data Flows. Global Affairs Canada. (2021)
- Mapping Current and Emerging Models of Intermediary Liability. Broadcasting and Telecommunications Review Panel. (2019)
- Internet Intermediary Liability in Defamation: Proposals for Statutory Reform. with Hilary Young. Law Commission of Ontario: Defamation Law in the Internet Age project. (2017)
In the News
- Liberals push to end Bill C-10 study amid social media free speech concerns. Global News. (2021)
- B.C. seeking public input in developing provincial response to ‘revenge porn’. The Lawyer's Daily. (2021)
- ‘You’re going to be left with the junk’: What happens when Google hides the news?. The Toronto Star. (2021)
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