Social networking as a criminal enterprise

"Preface The birth of social networking did not originate with MySpace or Facebook. In fact, social networking websites began in 1978 based on the innovation of an IBM employee. Since that time, the appearance and use of social networking is changing on a daily basis. The ability to share ideas and communicate is one of the many uses of social networking websites, and it is continuing to evolve in appearance and purpose. With that said, with innovation comes deviance, and the social networking phenomenon has skyrocketed the ability to commit crime online. The purpose of this book is to provide the reader a thorough examination of how social networking criminality has affected our criminal justice system. Experts in the field have provided a comprehensive overview of the emergence of social networking, the types of crimes committed, and how the system is handling these offenders. Key concepts, statistics, and legislative histories are discussed in every chapter. It is the desire of the editors to educate and enlighten a wide audience, from those who are completely unfamiliar with the topic as an entirety to individuals who need more specific information on a particular type of social networking criminality. This text should be a useful guide to students, academics, and practitioners alike"—