ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA IN COUNTERING CYBERTERRORISM CATASTROPHE

Abstract

Cyberspace is a part of one’s existence and social media plays a vital role in ensuring continued human survival. Unquestionably, cyberspace offers many opportunities, but it also brings security risks and challenges. One of the challenges that needs to be addressed is the intersection between terrorism and social media. Their discourse in today’s era of digital technology has become inevitable.  The transnational nature of cyberspace not only permits the fabrication and falsification of information, on social media but also poses the threat of breach to national security.  Terrorist organizations use social media to carry out large-scale ideological campaigns. Discussion forums and social networks allow them to spread their terrorist campaign to even the remotest area to achieve their end purpose. With this growing menace, new forms of terrorism like cyberterrorism are also gaining prominence.

The use of meta-narratives, dark-web narratives not indexed by search engines, signposts, etc are being used by cyberterrorists to fulfill their political and personal agenda. Terrorist groups have all been successful in exploiting social media rules and spreading conspiracy theories. Social media regulations, at times, can handle crises that the state's traditional political machinery is incapable of handling.  This chapter explores legal policies adopted by states to combat the menace of terrorism and cyberterrorism on social media platforms. The chapter will also explore the effectiveness and viability of conventional regulatory tools implemented across nations for combating this menace via social media. The chapter shall also identify new approaches to be adopted by the states to avert and combat the malicious content on social media by violent non-state actors.