This thesis studies what the role of social media platforms in international criminal investigation should be. In this normative research, the Syrian civil war will be analysed in order to answer...Show moreThis thesis studies what the role of social media platforms in international criminal investigation should be. In this normative research, the Syrian civil war will be analysed in order to answer the research question. I argue that social media platforms as private businesses are difficult to regulate in terms of censorship and ownership of evidence. When these platforms function as a public forum, censorship – which is sometimes necessary in order to protect public from hurtful content – is difficult to justify, since there are no laws on these platforms other than the guidelines the company imposed itself. I will conclude that social media platforms’ role is: a private businesses, functioning as a public forum. Evidence should not be deleted from these forums, unless there is a clear reason why. Examples of this are protecting the public by deleting terrorist propaganda or deleting evidence that might hurt victims of the civil war.Show less
