AN OVERVIEW OF SOCIAL MEDIA RELATED CYBERCRIMES AND ITS LEGAL REMEDY

Abstract

The internet with its open system design and emphasis on ease of communication, presents a particularly difficult balancing between criminal actions and authorized use. The emergence of various social media platforms has created an enabling environment for an increase in cybercrimes. This work was motivated by the fact that what constitutes cybercrime is inexact because of a lack of consensus of what should be included in the measurement. This paper presents the various ways cybercrimes are carried out on different social media platforms. This poses a challenge as there are no identification verification processes. The purpose of this paper is geared towards determining to what extent the exponential growth in social media usage has facilitated cybercrime. In this paper, we adopted the doctrinal method of legal research. The paper finds that anonymity, low cost and ease of operation on social media platforms has made it increasingly an attractive place to do business. The paper finds that the threat of cybercrime can be greatly minimized by creating awareness of such crimes. The paper concludes by stating that there is need for the development of a cybercrime related legal framework for checkmating social media cybercrimes. It recommends among many, that sharing of personal information/data should be avoided on social media platforms.