CASE LAW REGARDING THE LEGALITY OF SOCIAL MEDIA CYBER-BLACKMAIL

Resumo

Social media evidence (SM) is a relatively new and rapidly growing area of digital forensics. Criminal investigations may greatly benefit from the digital information trail left on social media if it is correctly analysed, especially in situations involving cyber-blackmail. It can be difficult to gather evidence from social media and show it in court, though. It is important to respect both the law and the individual's privacy while gathering social media evidence for cyber blackmail offences. Forensic investigators can conduct fruitful investigations and quickly gather legally reliable evidence if they are given sophisticated tools for controlling the quantity and variety of social media content. The present state of evidence gathering, admissibility, and jurisdiction on social media is studied in order to penalise individuals who engage in cyber-blackmail. In addition to examining Iraqi laws and regulations, the research also considers the difficulties courts today have while gathering, evaluating, presenting, and confirming social media evidence. Moreover, a review of the key elements of a lawsuit, including the case's purpose, the seriousness of the threats made, and the supporting documentation. A descriptive and analytical technique was used to analyse the issue, explain it in all of its aspects, and provide a diagnosis. As a result, we discovered that, in order to prevent cyber-blackmail, the court investigator may run into difficulties because of a legal loophole and a lack of resources for gathering digital evidence in the social media sector. Important aspects of cyber blackmail, such as its scope and character, were also made clear by this study.