Identity Verification on Social Media and Court of Cassation Reversal Decisions
It is emphasized that identity verification via e-Government on social media can facilitate the identification of perpetrators in criminal lawsuits, but the elements of the crime must still be separately proven.
The Court of Cassation's social media reversal decisions reveal that the planned identity verification via e-Government can solve the 'who wrote it' problem in criminal cases, but the elements of the 'is it a crime' question must be proven separately.
Reposting and the Judicial Process
A prison sentence given to a user for reposting another account's post on their own account was reversed by the 8th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation. The grounds for reversal were based on the necessity of investigating details regarding the source of the post rather than its content.
13th Judicial Package and Identity Verification
The 13th Judicial Package, expected to come to the agenda in the new legislative year of the Parliament, anticipates matching social media accounts with ID numbers via e-Government. The proposal has not yet been submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) but is being debated in the public sphere.
Two Layers of Disputes
In social media crimes, courts seek answers to two separate questions: establishment of the act and the elements of the crime. While identity verification only facilitates the question of who made the post, whether the act constitutes a crime requires a separate legal review.
Legal Framework and Elements of Crime
Within the scope of the relevant articles of the Turkish Penal Code, conditions such as publicity, targeting, and danger are required in crimes committed through spreading misleading information to the public, inciting hatred and hostility, defamation, and press and publication.
Evaluation of Court of Cassation Decisions
In decisions rendered by the chambers of the Court of Cassation, it is emphasized that in claims of hacked accounts, IP and time investigations must be conducted, and source tracking and publicity elements in reposting must be examined completely.
Results Oriented Toward Practice
The proper collection of evidence during the investigation stage and objections to the elements of the crime during the defense stage continue to maintain their legal importance, independently of the identity regulation.