About
Jacob Rowbottom is a Professor of Law at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, and a Fellow of University College, Oxford. His work focuses on media law, freedom of expression, and the legal regulation of democratic processes.
- Education: BA in Jurisprudence (Oxford), LLM (New York University School of Law)
- Previous roles: University Lecturer in Law at Cambridge, qualified barrister, US Senate election campaign staffer
His research explores tensions between media power and democratic integrity, with a focus on digital speech, campaign finance regulation, and judicial protection of constitutional rights. Recent publications analyze hate speech mitigation, electoral transparency, and the evolution of obscenity law in the digital age.
The 15 most recent articles span topics including privacy injunctions, political advertising bans, election broadcasting, and the interplay between free speech and campaign finance. These works emphasize subfields like digital media governance, judicial balancing of rights, and anti-corruption frameworks.
Rowbottom contributes to policy debates through written evidence submissions to UK parliamentary committees on issues such as online freedom of expression, fake news, and political donation transparency. He is a key figure in the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights' research on free speech and teaches Media Law at Oxford.
