How Social Media Influence Crimes

Pankhuri Thukral & Vanshika Kainya, School of Law, NMIMS Hyderabad

ABSTRACT

Despite the spectacular nature of crime reporting, it is a sensitive topic. It's always surprising to see how people use social media to report crime. The rise of the internet has become such a vital part of our lives that it's hard to fathom a time when we didn't have them. Our daily lives have become increasingly reliant on social media, thanks to advances in technology, the rapid dissemination of mobile information, and the popularity of social media platforms like Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook and Twitter. However beneficial technology is, it also puts people at risk. As a result, social media has become a sanctuary for criminals, leading to more and more crimes taking place in cyberspace. Everyone has access to the latest forms of social media, and the benefits of the internet continue to amaze even the most jaded of us. To a large extent, social media's appeal can be attributed to the anonymity it provides, as well as the ability to create a virtual world in which individuals can interact virtually without ever having met each other face to face and exchange information, photos, and other media. The misuse of personal information, such as a woman's name, address, location, and images, has become all too frequent, especially for women. Social media's anonymity and fakeness, as well as jurisdictional issues, have contributed to an increase in online violence that affects people of all ages and is a global issue. Individuals' safety, privacy, and dignity are all at risk because of the dangers offered by social media. Relationship between social media and criminal law are examined in this article. Additionally, it analyses the role of law enforcement in detecting and averting cybercrime committed through the use of social media.