Vision

Digital literacy as an enabler to the fight against social media threats and crime

Mission

To build a platform for social media related threats and crimes using end user drive information systems that are responsive to currently trends.

Aim

To develop a social media threat reporting and crime awareness system in Uganda.

Background

The Internet is increasingly becoming a significant tool for social, economic, and human rights development in Uganda and Africa at large. Average citizens, human rights activists, civil society organizations, media houses, and more recently, politicians and government institutions, have resorted to the use of various forms of social media platforms in particular Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter - for expression, association and information sharing. Social media crimes cannot be sufficiently reported and investigated using traditional methods of recording lengthy statements, visiting the scene of crime, submitting the file to the Resident State Attorney for perusal, compelling witnesses to court, obtaining expert opinions from computer experts and then tracing for suspects. Furthermore, there is a deficiency in the numbers and capabilities of law enforcement officers to investigate computer related crimes since such occur randomly in any part of the country with access to the internet.

Objective

The main objective of this project was to develop a social media threat reporting and crime awareness system in Uganda. The implementation of the system will solve the problem of the existing social media crime awareness problems since it’s able to integrate and merge data from different sources.

Possible outcomes

The social media threat reporting and crime awareness system is intended to enhance and facilitate the reporting of social media threats and to create awareness among the law enforcement agencies, Justice Law and Order Sector, ICT regulatory bodies and the general Public. It brings together the different players in the online communities. These will range from the information quest and naïve users. Such persons will share their experience, attached techniques and notable threats which will form awareness news so as to empower the users. Such events cover areas of;

1. Mobile security
2. Innovation in the cyber space
3. Social media applications
4. Breaches and discoveries among others