POLICY DEVELOPMENT DRAFT2 Abstract When the internet made its debut in the 1970s, it was solely utilized for government agencies until it evolved into what most know now as the world wide web in the 1990s (Bullock, 2018). In the early 2000s, social media emerged and dominated the way in which people engaged with one another. Within its first eight years on the scene, social media applications such as MySpace and Twitter dominated social interaction. Individuals found themselves staying glued to social media applications instead of meeting their friends, family or loved ones in person. Flash forward to today, and almost all individuals and businesses take advantage of the benefits social media provides such as the number of people that can be reached to spread the word about a business, event, or important information. For law enforcement agencies, social media provides a leverage that allows the public and law enforcement to engage, providing education to the public, allowing citizens to provide feedback, as well as attempt to advance community policing. With the growing use of social media, law enforcement agencies must create social media policies to protect the integrity of the organization as well as law enforcement personnel. Keywords: social media, law enforcement, social media abuse, misuse
