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Gang Presence in Social Network Sites Décary-Hétu & Morselli - Gang Presence in Social Network Sites Copyright © 2011 International Journal of Cyber Criminology (IJCC) ISSN: 0974 – 2891 July – December 2011, Vol 5 (2): 876–890 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non- Commercial-Share Alike License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. This license does not permit commercial exploitation or the creation of derivative works without specific permission. Gang Presence in Social Network Sites David Décary-Hétu1 & Carlo Morselli2 Université de Montréal, Canada Abstract From the start of the new millennium, social networking sites have become very popular. These sites have provided a space for many to vent their feelings, get new and connect with old friends. Unfortunately, the same sites have been misused by criminal groups for colliding with similar groups and also recruit new individuals to this group. This present paper is a qualitative study which aims to analyze the presence of gangs in the social networking sites, especially in Canada and also in other countries. The results of this study indicate a large presence of gangs in social networking sites. Keywords: Social networking sites; cyber crime; gangs; criminal groups; Canada. Introduction Social networking sites are one of the leading trends in the ever-evolving internet 2.0. Facebook, the most popular of these websites, now has more than 800 million active members (Facebook, 2012), making its population larger than that of most countries. The time spent on such networks by each person has also increased dramatically over the last few years as individuals increasingly rely on them. Over the past few months, stories of youth gangs using these sites to distribute videos of beatings have surfaced in the mass media (Ahlert, 2011). These reports state that criminal groups have been using social networking sites to coordinate illegal activities such as the transport and exportation of stolen metal (Linsell, 2012). Many journalists have confirmed that an increasing number of criminal organizations are turning to online social networks to communicate privately (Emery & Salazar, 2012) and also to insult their enemies. An example of this would be “the head of a biker gang in Australia[who] recently used his Facebook page to taunt the people who had tried to kill him three times and to insult police officers who had given him a driving ticket (Monfried, 2012). Consistent with Morselli and Décary-Hétu’s previous findings (forthcoming), law- enforcement agencies have also been active on Facebook and other online social network platforms to warn citizens of risks (e.g., leaving their houses unprotected at Christmas) or to solicit information on ongoing investigations (Pyle, 2012). Using a keyword-based approach, this paper will evaluate how criminal groups in Canada and abroad are taking advantage of online social networks to recruit new members 1PhD Candidate, School of Criminology, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre- ville, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Email: [email protected] 2 Deputy Director, Center for Comparative Criminology, School of Criminology, Université de Montréal, C.P. 6128, succursale Centre-ville, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Email: [email protected] 876 © 2011 International Journal of Cyber Criminology. All rights reserved. Under a creative commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 India License International Journal of Cyber Criminology Vol 5 Issue 2 July - December 2011 and broadcast messages both publicly and privately. The first section presents an overview of the evolution of social networking media since their inception in the 1980s.The second section reviews previous studies on the subject, which demonstrate that there has been a shift over the past few years and that gangs such as the Mexican cartels are now using social networking sites to monitor their enemies and launch propaganda campaigns. Discussion of data and methodology follow, with a presentation of the keyword-based approach adopted by the researchers and the dataset collected in the fall of 2011. The fourth section presents the results of our data collection, which indicate that the presence of organized crime in social networking sites has increased sharply over the last year and that their footprint on Facebook and Twitter is larger. Finally, the last two sections discuss our results as well as our recommendation that these social networks be monitored on a regular basis in order to effectively keeps up with criminal organizations online. Online social networks Social networking websites are “web-based services that allow individuals to (1) construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system, (2) articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system” (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). The first expression of such services is found in the 1980s’ Bulletin Board Systems or BBS (Zhongbao & Zhang, 2003) which were built around computers that allowed a limited number of people to dial in through phone lines and leave messages and exchange files. This very basic (and text-only) interface was popular amongst underground computer enthusiasts (Craig, 2005) who still had to wait until 1997 for the first “recognizable social network site”, SixDegrees, to launch (Boyd & Ellison, 2007).This first service was free and very easy to use, even for neophytes. For the first time, users had the possibility to create online profiles that allowed them to connect with friends and friends of friends. The success of SixDegrees and other early networking sites did not go unnoticed. Employees of an Internet start-up recognized the potential behind social networking sites and, in a matter of days, created a website they called MySpace. This website was similar to previous services in that it asked its members to create profiles and network with their friends but it went even further by allowing users to change the layout of their personal page to reflect their own personality. It also provided a venue for musicians to share their music with millions of people. The flash music player on MySpace is now known to music lovers all over the world and the social networking site even has its own record label. The success of MySpace was instantaneous (Boyd & Ellison, 2007). In 2006, it was the most popular social networking site on the Internet, largely because all profiles were, by default, open to everyone. This ensured that people could easily find each other but such openness occasionally led to problems. The website was criticized because it allowed stalkers to harass their victims and children to be bullied (e.g., “cyber-bullying”). In the summer of 2011, MySpace was sold for $35M to a digital advertising agency, a devaluation of 94% since its previous sale in 2005 (Blackden, 2011). The sale was intended to kick start the platform but has yet to achieve its goal as membership has sharply declined over the past few years. MySpace is now seen as a marginal player in the social web. MySpace’s problems pushed many users towards a trendier and more privacy-conscious social networking site, Facebook. Facebook offered its members a rich environment that 877 © 2011 International Journal of Cyber Criminology. This work is licensed under a under a creative commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 India License Décary-Hétu & Morselli - Gang Presence in Social Network Sites allowed people to stay in touch through messages, photos, videos, and games. Although initially limited to college students, the site was gradually made available to everyone over the age of 13. Today, Facebook boasts more than 800 million users, half of whom log in every day (Facebook, 2012). As with MySpace, Facebook’s former strengths have become its weaknesses. New applications, messages and warnings are constantly distracting the users. Moreover, Facebook has also tried to make more and more profile information public by default. The site has changed its default privacy settings numerous times over the last few years, which has created many problems for users who would prefer to keep their personal information private. Such changes have pushed many Facebook users to turn toward the latest social media contender - Twitter. Twitter was launched in 2006 and, unlike Facebook and MySpace, it was integrated from the start with cellular telephones making it much more accessible. Twitter’s unique feature was the tweet: a 140-character message that users share with readers throughout the world. At first, such tweets were often quite mundane, but over time a new form of art was created - call it the art of concision. It became a challenge for Twitter users to deliver the most effective message while using as few characters as possible. Tech enthusiasts were the first to adopt the service when it was launched and they loved the direct connection with others. There was no application, pictures or gifts to distract them from the tweet - only messages exchanged between one person and his network of contacts. All tweets are public by default which means that while a person can follow (receive all the messages from) a specific user, it is also possible to read all the messages from all the users. Such openness created a strong sense of community among the members of this social networking site. Twitter is now integrated into many platforms, including operating systems and mobile phones. Companies and individuals take advantage of the direct connection it provides to interact with customers and friends. Even celebrities seem to be just a tweet away. Given the popularity and personal data gathered by services like Twitter and Facebook, Google has recently launched its own version of a social networking site: Google+. The Mountain View Company has registered more than 90 million users (Barnett, 2012) in the span of a few months and its contact management and pure design has generated very positive reviews.
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