Dark Knowledge and Platform Governance

A Case of an Illicit E-Commerce Community in Reddit

Bibliographic Data

ID3756569
AuthorsK Hazel Kwon (0000-0001-7414-6959, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA, corresponding author), Chun Shao (0000-0001-9844-0423, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ, USA)
Year2021
Volume65
Issue6
Pages779-799
Publication date2021-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Behavioral Scientist (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-7642 • E-ISSN: 1552-3381
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1177/0002764221989770
OpenAlexW3128702121
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited34

This study examines the dark information commons in Reddit, a pseudonymous social news site, in the context of illicit e-commerce communities. Unlike market forums that are hosted in the dark web, Reddit is open to users of both the clear and dark web, unwittingly serving as a gateway for potential newcomers to learn and prepare their entrance into darknet market systems. To illustrate how information commons in Reddit bolster the resilience of illicit e-commerce communication ecology, this study presents information and knowledge flows in a subreddit community dedicated to a now-defunct market called AlphaBay. This study expands the discussion of the challenges that Reddit, as information commons, encounters in governing the flow of dark knowledge

Business · Commons · Context (archaeology) · Corporate governance · Gateway (web page) · Geography · Internet privacy · Political science · Public relations · Social media · World Wide Web · Computer Science · Cybercrime and Law Enforcement Studies · Law · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Spam and Phishing Detection