Profile

Victoria Nash is the Director, an Associate Professor, and Senior Policy Fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute (OII). In the latter role, she is responsible for connecting OII research with policy and practice. Her research interests draw on her background as a political theorist, and concern the normative policy implications of evidence characterising children’s use of Internet technologies. Recent projects have included an analysis of age verification policies as a tool for balancing the interests of children and adults online, and a review of the risks and harms faced by children online. She is currently concluding a funded research project examining the concept of the ‘algorithmic child’ and the data risks posed to children by connected toys and the Internet of Things. She holds several digital policy advisory roles, including membership of the UK Government’s multi-stakeholder UK Council on Internet Safety (UKCIS) Evidence Group, and serves on the Advisory Board of COADEC. She is frequently called on to give expert evidence in UK and EU policy consultations on broader issues such as platform governance.

She is also Course Director of the OII’s annual course for digital policy-makers, the Internet Leadership Academy and the Summer Doctoral Programme for international PhD students.

Prior to joining the OII in 2002, Vicki was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Policy Research. She received her D.Phil in Politics from Nuffield College, Oxford University in 1999, having completed an M.Phil in Politics from Magdalen College in 1996, and a BA (Hons) Degree in Politics, Philosophy and Economics before this.

Areas of Interest for Doctoral Supervision

Child safety, democracy, ethics, governance, inequality, public policy

Positions held at the OII

  • Director, March 2021 –
  • Deputy Director, August 2014 – March 2021
  • Policy and Research Fellow, August 2002 –
  • Director of Graduate Studies, September 2010 – March 2014
  • Director of Graduate Studies, October 2008 – September 2009

Students supervised at the OII

Current students
Past students
  • Dr Marcelo Thompson
  • Jon Penney
  • Tom Nicholls
  • Gillian Bolsover
  • Allison Mishkin

Research

Current projects

  • Political Communication, AI and Data Diversity in the US

    Participants: Dr Victoria Nash, Professor Philip N. Howard, Dr Dimitra (Mimie) Liotsiou, Lisa-Maria Neudert, Dr Vidya Narayanan

    This project investigates contemporary trends in political communication, political polarization, artificial intelligence, and data diversity in the United States.

  • Strengthening Digital Democracy

    Participants: Dr Victoria Nash, Professor Philip N. Howard, Dr Dimitra (Mimie) Liotsiou, Lisa-Maria Neudert, Dr Vidya Narayanan

    This programme supports research into the use of computational propaganda in developing democracies, our management of strategic relations with industry, government and civil society stakeholders, and capacity transfer to civil society groups.

Past projects

  • Internet Filtering and Children’s Exposure to Harmful Content

    Participants: Professor Andrew Przybylski, Professor Victoria Nash

    The use of Internet filters has outpaced scientific evidence suggesting they protect young people online. This project investigates whether Internet filters help make young people resilient in the Internet age.

  • Child safety on the Internet: looking beyond ICT actors

    Participants: Dr Vicki Nash, Dr Huw Davies

    This project will map the range of non-ICT companies engaging digitally with children and identify areas where their actions might affect a child’s exposure to online risks such as data theft, adverse online experiences or sexual exploitation.

  • The “Offensive Internet”? Examining Cultures of Hate and Prejudice Online

    Participants: Dr Taha Yasseri, Dr Kathryn Eccles, Dr Vicki Nash, Lucas Wright

    This project examines the cultures of offensive speech online. It aims to learn about how offensive material is created, about the actors who produce and disseminate it, and the ways in which it is challenged.

  • Effective Age Verification Techniques: Lessons to be Learnt from the Online Gambling Industry

    Participants: Dr Victoria Nash, Ben Zevenbergen, Dr Rachel O'Connell

    This cross-national research project focuses on the operation and efficacy of age verification techniques as employed by the European online gambling industry, comparing this to practice in other industry sectors.

  • Child Protection

    Participants: Dr Victoria Nash, Dr Monica Bulger, Dr Vera Slavtcheva-Petkova

    Work and activities by OII faculty and associates on issues surrounding online child safety and protection.

  • Clinical and psychological characteristics of Internet gamblers: web-based survey

    Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Victoria Nash, Joanne Lloyd, Professor Robert D. Rogers, John Geddes, Guy Goodwin

    Expanding our understanding of online gambling by undertaking a web-based survey of users of Internet gambling sites, covering areas such as demographic and occupational characteristics, psychological characteristics, and attitudes to risk.

  • Civil society participation in the World Summit for the Information Society (WSIS)

    Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Victoria Nash, Dr Sonia Liff, Professor Stephen Coleman

    Achieving a deeper understanding of the nature, extent and potential of civil society groups' participation in the 2003 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and ICT policy making by establishing a cross-sector academic / practitioner dialogue.

  • EICN working group on child protection and mobile phones

    Participants: Professor William H. Dutton, Dr Victoria Nash

    An OII-led working group to gather information and develop policy recommendations about the practices of mobile network operators in Europe in relation to child protection in the era of third-generation (3G) multimedia mobile phones.

Books

  • Nash, V. and Christie, I. (2003) Making Sense of Community. Institute for Public Policy Research.
  • Paxton, W. (2002) Any Volunteers for the Good Society?. Institute for Public Policy Research.

Chapters

  • NASH, V. (2019) "The Politics of Children's Internet use" In: Society and the Internet Dutton, W.H. and GRAHAM, M. (eds.). oxford: Oxford University Press. 480.
  • Nash, V.J. (2014) "The Politics of Children's Internet Use" In: Society and the Internet Graham, M. and Dutton, W.H. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Nash, V.J. (2013) "Analyzing Freedom of Expression Online: Theoretical, Normative and Empirical Contributions" In: The Oxford Handbook of Internet Studies Dutton, W.H. (eds.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  • Ahlert, C., Nash, V.J. and Marsden, C. (2005) "Implications of the Mobile Internet for the Protection of Minors" In: L'ICT Trasforma la Societa. Milan: Forum per la Tecnologia della Informazione.
  • Nash, V.J. (2004) "Public policy and social networks: just how 'Socially Aware' is the policy-making process?" In: Social Networks and Social Exclusion: Sociological and Policy Perspectives Phillipson, C., Allan, G. and Morgan, D. (eds.).

Journal articles

Reports

  • Nash, V.J., Adler, J.R., Horvath, M.A.H., Livingstone, S., Marston, C., Owen, G. and Wright, J. (2016) "Identifying the Routes by which Children View Pornography Online: Implications for Future Policy-makers Seeking to Limit Viewing" In: Report of the Expert Panel for the DCMS Consultation "Child Safety Online: Age Verification for Pornography".
  • Nash, V.J., O'Connell, R., Zevenbergen, B. and Mishkin, A. (2014) "Effective age verification techniques: Lessons to be learnt from the online gambling industry" In: Final Report, December 2012-December 2013. Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford.
  • Dutton, W.H., Dopatka, A., Hills, M., Law, G. and Nash, V.J. (2011) "Freedom of connection - freedom of expression: The changing legal and regulatory ecology shaping the internet" In: UNESCO, Division for Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace. Paris: UNESCO.
  • Powell, A., Hills, M. and Nash, V.J. (2010) "Child protection and freedom of expression online" In: Oxford Internet Institute Discussion Forum Paper No. 17.. Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford.

Presentations

  • Slavtcheva-Petkova, V., Nash, V.J. and Bulger, M.E. (2013) Evidence on the extent of harms experienced by children as a result of online risks: A critical synthesis of research. International Communication Association (ICA) Annual Meeting.
  • Slavtcheva-Petkova, V., Nash, V.J. and Bulger, M.E. (2013) Does the Internet harm children's health? A critical review of the evidence. Annual Conference of the Media, Communication, and Cultural Studies Association (MeCCSA).

Teaching

Videos

News

Events

Blog

Press

  • Will algorithms always be biased?

    2 March 2021 BBC Digital Planet


    Can bias in algorithms be removed? The Incoming Director of the Oxford Internet Institute, tablets in Malawi helping girls stay in school and online learning via your games console.

  • Afternoons on BBC Oxford

    9 February 2021 BBC News


    Listen to Professor Victoria Nash, Deputy Director, OII, University of Oxford speaking to BBC Radio Oxford presenter Adam Ball about digital parenting and how we can help keep children safe online as we mark Safer Internet Day 13m06s-19m06s

  • Coronavirus school closures impact 1.3 billion children – and remote learning is increasing inequality

    18 May 2020 The Conversation


    COVID-19 is disrupting education on an unprecedented scale and this is already leading to growing inequalities.

  • UK ‘porn block’ starts April 1 – but you can unlock it by handing over ID or buying £5 ‘porn card’ on your local high street

    7 March 2019 The Sun


    As early as next month, porn sites will be required to get proof of ID from UK residents before showing any X-rated clips.

  • Are celebrity baby Instagram accounts OK?

    19 April 2018 BBC News


    "The major pitfalls include increasingly recognising that children have rights of consent. Who owns a child's identity?

  • Hey! Algorithms, leave them kids alone: Chips with Everything podcast

    13 April 2018 The Guardian: Chips with Everything podcast


    To discuss the implications of an algorithm-free YouTube platform, Jordan Erica Webber is joined by Dr Vicki Nash, of the Oxford Internet Institute.

  • Do we need new rules for the platform society?

    24 January 2018 The New Statesman


    Dr. Victoria Nash explores this question in an op-ed for The New Statesman.

  • Academics doubt value of online porn age checks

    18 July 2017 Sky News


    Experts say the move will not deter children from accessing porn and will leave adults exposed to blackmail and other cybercrime.

  • Porn ID checks set to start in April 2018

    17 July 2017 BBC News


    A nine-month countdown to the introduction of compulsory age checks on online pornography seen from the UK has begun.

  • Limiting Children’s Access to Porn Online

    17 February 2016 Huffpost Tech


    Vicki Nash writes about the findings of the report commissioned by the Government on children's access to pornography for which she was the lead author.

  • Teach pupils about porn

    17 February 2016 The Times


    Young people should be taught about the fiction of pornography. Coverage of the findings of the government report on child access and use of pornography led by Vicki Nash.

  • A grown-up conversation about children and porn online starts here.

    17 February 2016 The Conversation


    Vicki Nash and co-authors of the government funded report on children's access and use of pornography write about the need for appropriate education to counter the fiction of pornography.

  • Government launches porn site age checks consultation

    16 February 2016 BBC News


    Victoria Nash is the lead author on a government report on child access and use of pornography. BBC news reports on the government launch of the public consultation on implementation of age checks.

  • Why posting pictures of your kids on facebook could come back to haunt you, writes Linda Geddes

    31 October 2014 The Adelaide Advertiser


    An article on the use of images of children posted to social media sites which quotes Victoria Nash and was originally published in the Telegraph is reproduced on the Australian news site

  • Why online snaps can returnt to haunt you

    30 October 2014 Daily Telegraph Australia


    Article quoting Victoria Nash on the risks of posting pictures of children on social media sites is reproduced on several Australian news sites including the Herald Sun, Perth Now, Brisbane Courier Mail and News.com

  • Baroness Kidron interview: ‘Children’s online safety is too vital to leave to Government’

    27 October 2014 The Independent


    An interview with Baroness Kidron reports on her involvement with iRights, a charter to make children's use of the internet safer, notes that it has the support of the Oxford Internet Institute.

  • What Oxford has done for the internet

    3 October 2014 University of Oxford


    Vicki Nash provides a tour d'horizon of the major contribution that Oxford has made to the internet since alumnus Sir Tim Berners-Lee created it 25 years ago.

  • Does sharing photos of your children on Facebook put them at risk?

    21 September 2014 The Observer


    An in-depth article explores the many issues relating to posting pictures of children on-line. Vicki Nash advises against posting information that could be used to steal a child's identity.

  • Click

    5 May 2014 BBC World Service


    Vicki Nash talked to the BBC World Service 'Click' programme about the values and value of the Oxford Internet Institute and about its research. (15.07 on clock)

  • The Chris Evans Show

    18 June 2013 BBC R2


    Victoria Nash commented in a news item on the popular morning show which looked at government plans to ask Internet companies to do more to block harmful online content. [c.33:12 on the clock] (also on seven BBC local radio outlets)

  • Icann to set new internet address timetable with raffle

    17 December 2012 BBC News Technology


    Icann, the internet name regulator has opted for a raffle to determine the timetable for applications for new suffixes. Victoria Nash comments that the new top-level domains have been controversial and Icann needs to deliver a smooth rollout.

  • South Today

    11 January 2012 BBC 1


    Victoria Nash talked to BBC local news about the sacking of an Oxford City footballer for posting a homophobic comment on Twitter. People get carried away, she says, and once the message is out it is almost impossible to retract (01.24 on clock).

  • iPad: Tech Toy of Choice for children Poses Big Challenges

    29 November 2011 Wall Street Cheat sheet


    As increasing numbers of children have access to an iPad, companies are responding by developing software specifically designed to appeal to children. Victoria Nash comments on welfare concerns about children online.

  • 1iPad luxury, 2iPads necessity for many families

    29 November 2011 Arabian Gazette


    As increasing numbers of children have access to an iPad, companies are responding by developing software specifically designed to appeal to children. Victoria Nash comments on welfare concerns about children online.

  • IPad-Crazed Toddlers Spur Holiday Sales

    28 November 2011 Bloomberg


    As increasing numbers of children have access to an iPad, companies are responding by developing software specifically designed to appeal to children. Victoria Nash comments on welfare concerns about children online.

Integrity Statement

In the past five years my work has been financially supported by UK taxpayers, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Oak Foundation, Luminate, the John Fell Fund and Google UK. As part of my science communication and policy outreach responsibilities, I have served in an unpaid capacity on OfCom’s Making Sense of Media Advisory Panel and its Consumer Panel, on the UK Council on Internet Safety, the Coalition for the Digital Economy (COADEC), the Education Task Force against Hate Speech, the Internet Commission, the End Child Prostitution and Trafficking (ECPAT) Research Advisory Network, the UK Internet Governance Forum, Nominet’s Policy Stakeholder Committee and advisory boards for specific projects at Facebook Inc., Google Inc., and Parentzone.