Assessing the Impacts of Social Media on National Security in Kenya

Abstract

The usage of social media facilitated by internet boom and emerging mobile technologies has greatly transformed the manner in which the society operates and has also revolutionized the art of communication and sharing of ideas. Through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, among others, people from all corners of the world are able to form a virtual home where they interact, communicate and share ideas. While social media has numerous benefits, it does not go without challenges. In the recent past, use of social media has had copious social and security inferences for the citizens, governments and national security agencies including the military and the police. Kenya, being among the countries with the highest social media usage has not been immune to these challenges linked to social media. This study therefore sought to analyse the role of social media on national security with reference to Kenya. Specifically, the study sought to examine the threats of social media usage to Kenya‟s national security, the use of social media by the security agencies in preventing, limiting or eliminating threats to Kenya‟s national security, and the various strategies that have been put in place to curb and minimize the negative effects of social media on the national security. The research adopted both descriptive and exploratory research design. The target population comprised of employees of Communications Authority of Kenya. Other key informants included National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) official, Directorate of Criminal Investigation official, and an official from the National Intelligence Service. Members of the general public were also included in the study. Stratified random sampling technique was used to sample the respondents at the Communications Authority of Kenya. The key informants were sampled through purposive sampling method. The members of the general public were sampled through convenience sampling. Primary data was gathered by use of structured questionnaires and interview guides. Secondary data was gathered from existing records, periodicals, journals, reports, internet sources, policy papers, presented papers and books. Data was then analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) using both inferential and descriptive statistics. The findings were presented using frequency tables and figures. From the findings, the study found out that social media is a threat to national security. It was established that terrorist organisations take advantage of social media platforms to facilitate ideological radicalization, recruitment and training, communication, to popularize their actions and to spread propaganda. Social media platforms are also used by community criminal groups to facilitate hate speech, money laundering, among other crimes. The study further found out that security agencies utilize social media to enhance national security mainly through communication with the public, for open source intelligence, for public diplomacy among other purposes meant to enhance national security. The study further concluded that the government has put in place various strategies to minimize the threats of social media to the national security. These include the cybercrime act which offers a framework for timely and effective detection, investigation and prosecution of cybercrimes. The other strategy used to reduce threats of social media on national security is close monitoring of social media groups and content shared online.