In order to be able to identify the extent of criminal-relevant activities in the area of social media, a target group-specific representative quantitative survey (n=3.000) and qualitative focus groups of Austrian social media users are planned.In addition to the representative survey of the population, which divides the interviewees into groups of users, former-users (due to negative experiences) and non-users, parents of 10- to 13-years old children (n=500) are asked about their children‘s usage of social networks. Furthermore, in order to create the basis for the surveys and focus groups, interviews with experts of the IT-division and police attorneys of the Ministry of Interior will be conducted. These methods should center the experiences of the users with social networks and clarify the following points: Which criminal-relevant phenomena and activities do occur in social media and what extent did they reach so far respectively which methods were applied? How many respectively which groups of persons have already – to what extent and how – been affected, what preventive measures were taken individually, and what safety measures should be installed?

Project leader
Institut für Höhere Studien (IHS)
Stumpergasse 56
A-1060 Wien
www.ihs.ac.at

Project partner
MAKAM Research GmbH Bundesministerium für Inneres (BM.I)

Contact
Dr. Susanne Kirchner
T.: 01/59991/306
F.: 01/59991/555
Kirchner@ihs.ac.at