Disposable Social Media Profiles

Internet users exceeded 135 million across the 22 Arab countries. Of this, 81 million people are users of one or more social media networks. This new connectedness allows for an unprecedented amount of global inspection into instances of undemocratic and unfair practices by oppressive regimes. Consumers of news can now be producers; citizen journalists have radically upended the traditional top-down distribution. Using the context of the so-called "Arab Spring," this research examines the arms race between Internet surveillance and Internet expression in state-run Internet providers. Using the case study of the Egyptian uprising of early 2011 and the Internet oppression by the government against citizen journalists, this research demonstrates the need to protect online expression from content attribution. By employing a design science research framework, this research has developed an artifact using via agile software development principles and user-centered design. The open-source software artifact allows for rapid creation of "disposable" social media profiles for one-time publishing, over anonymized and encrypted network transport, in untrusted network environments. This ephemeral design ensures a severable layer between the author and the content to insulate the author from the retribution of oppressive regimes. The artifact was evaluated with a mixed-methods approach, employing three study groups to triangulate a consensus. Efficacy was tested through quantitative means, with a survey of graduate students and feedback via open-source software distribution. Utility was tested through qualitative means, with semi-structured interviews of academics and journalists that have knowledge and written about the Arab uprisings. Quality was tested through an information security expert panel, convened at the annual Blackhat USA conference. The artifact has been rigorously tested within the design science framework and determined to meet the needs of citizen journalists by the proxy population used in the study. Perhaps, a greater amount of transparency derived from the increased and liberated use of social media reporting will make the next Arab uprisings avoidable. With more international attention acting as the safety valve, future demonstrations may be unnecessary. This research could make mass demonstrations -- in Tahrir Square or Tiananmen Square -- a quaint relic of the past.