Vigilantism and cooperative criminal justice: is there a place for cybersecurity vigilantes in cybercrime fighting?
K. e Silva · International Review of Law Computers & Technology · 2017
Are cybersecurity vigilantes at odds with criminal justice? Perhaps. In general terms, vigilantism could be understood as an act of retaliation launched by private agents in response to a perceived criminal conduct and targeting alleged perpetrators of a crime. This form of unofficial crime control has flourished on the Internet, where non-State actors have enforced informal means of justice to counter criminal behavior. Recently, the actions of cybersecurity vigilantes have become a recurrent (and sometimes disruptive) element in the fight against cybercrime. In this paper, I shall argue that individuals who make use of force in response to criminal activities online could pose a serious threat to cybercrime investigations – but also that by acting upon a presumable moral duty to counter crime, cybersecurity vigilantes are turning the tables on how law enforcement is effectuated online and shaping the future of cooperative criminal justice.