Interdisciplinary Studies in Media and Culture

The role of legal literacy in empowering Iranian users to combat cybercrime

Articles in Press

Document Type : .

Authors

amirreza bashirnejad 1
abbas assadi 2
nassim majidi 3
yasaman khajenouri 4

1 PhD Student in Media Management, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch

2 Faculty Member, Faculty of Communication Sciences, Allameh Tabataba'i University

3 Faculty Member, Islamic Azad University, Tehran Central Branch, Faculty of Communication Sciences and Media Studies

4 Assistant Professor, Department of Criminal Law and Criminology, Tehran Central Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

10.30465/ismc.2026.53681.3014
Abstract
Introduction: Legal literacy is the ability to understand and predict laws for civic life and an effective tool for protecting individual rights and facilitating daily activities that can prevent errors and possible losses and teach individuals the correct way to behave, value interactions, and transactions in different fields.Legal literacy in cyberspace not only helps curb criminal behavior but also strengthens citizen participation in supporting public cybersecurity.Learning and acquiring legal literacy faces challenges such as language barriers and social taboos. Accordingly, even non-lawyers must be equipped with the most basic legal concepts to understand legal systems.The essential and foundational role of legal literacy in cyberspace—serving as both a preventive and empowering factor—has become increasingly prominent. Digital legal literacy refers to an individual’s understanding of the rights, obligations, constraints, and offenses associated with digital activities and the cyber environment. Individuals equipped with such literacy not only possess a clear comprehension of legal frameworks but also demonstrate more responsible decision-making in diverse contexts, and, when confronted with violations, are capable of asserting their rights or engaging in informed reporting.

The present study was conducted with the aim of designing a model to promote the legal literacy of Iranian users in preventing cyberspace crimes

Keywords

Prevention
cybercrime
legal literacy
Iranian users
Subjects
Interdisciplinary Studies in Media and Culture

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 August 2026

  • Receive Date 08 December 2025
  • Accept Date 20 August 2026
  • Publish Date 20 August 2026

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