CAN SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS CONSIDERED AS EVIDENCE? 27 October 2022

CAN SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS CONSIDERED AS EVIDENCE?

Can social media posts considered as evidence?

According to the Turkis law, all evidence to be submitted to the file during the trial must have been obtained in accordance with the law. Evidence obtained illegally will not be considered by the court, even if it is strong enough to clarify the subject of the dispute beyond any doubt. From this point of view, in order for social media messages to be included in the file as legal evidence in a matter that has been brought to the judiciary, they must have been obtained in accordance with the law. For this, it must be recorded personally by a person who is a party to the messaging and presented to the file as evidence. Otherwise, messages made from here by creating a fake profile or sharing obtained from personal profiles without the knowledge, consent, and permission of the account holder are prohibited evidence.

Are social media messages alone sufficient as evidence before the court?

Screenshots of electronic correspondence between the plaintiff and the defendant can be taken and submitted to the case file. Although the evidential value of these images is debatable, in accordance with the decision of the 2nd Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals (numbered 2016/17151 E.) data such as photographs, films, images or sound recordings in electronic media and similar information carriers, if they are supported by other evidence. It is foreseen that it can be taken as the basis of the judgment as "evidence". However, it was also stated that these data alone are not sufficient to prove the facts.

In which cases can social media messages and posts be evidence?

In cases such as criminal cases, and divorce cases, social media messages can be used as evidence as long as they are collected in accordance with the law.

Is there a Sanction for the Evidence Not Legally Obtained?

As mentioned above, social media messages can be considered as evidence in Turkish law. However, this only applies if it is legally obtained. In other words, the sanction of the evidence that has not been obtained legally is not to be taken as the basis of the judgment. For those who unlawfully seized this evidence, if they obtained the evidence by violating the privacy of their private life, they will be prosecuted under Article 134 of Turkish Criminal Code.

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