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WhatsApp Drives Bahrain's Growing Social Media Crime Cases

Bahrain’s cybercrime cases climb as WhatsApp, Instagram lead in misuse, prompting calls for stricter online laws.

  • Publish date: since 6 hours
WhatsApp Drives Bahrain's Growing Social Media Crime Cases

Bahrain is seeing a sharp rise in social media misuse cases, with WhatsApp leading the pack. In the last three years, the Public Prosecution handled over 3,600 cases involving digital platforms.

In 2024 alone, 1,408 cybercrime cases were filed—up 7% from 2023’s 1,314 cases, showing how fast online crime is growing in the country.

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WhatsApp, Instagram Lead the List

So which platforms are people misusing the most?

  • WhatsApp: 1,321 cases (52%)

  • Instagram: 605 cases (24%)

  • TikTok: 181 cases

  • Facebook: 163 cases

  • X (formerly Twitter): 65 cases

Clearly, private messaging apps like WhatsApp are where most issues happen, often spreading content that's seen as foreign to Bahraini values.

Bahrain’s Fight Against Online Crimes

To tackle this, Bahrain set up a Cybercrime Prosecution Unit in late 2022, aimed at speeding up investigations and dealing with tech-driven crimes more efficiently.

Legal experts and the Ministry of Interior’s Cybercrime Directorate are on the same page: as social media use rises, so should protections against its misuse.

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