Professor named Peak Scholar for 2018

Peak Scholars are researchers whose academic work has had a positive social or economic impact outside of the academy. Scholars are nominated by their deans for projects that demonstrate community or knowledge engagement, entrepreneurship, tech transfer, innovation, or collaborative research.

Dr. Emily Laidlaw, PhD, was nominated for her scholarship on technology intermediaries, which examines the role of private companies as regulatory middlemen between technology and users, in particular the impact of intermediation on freedom of expression and privacy. Emily translates her research into action through law reform. She is advisor to various projects, including the Law Commission of Ontario on defamation law and the Uniform Law Conference of Canada on non-consensual sharing of intimate images. Her current SSHRC funded project seeks to reform the tort of privacy to address online abuse and technology.