Instagram Account Hacking Under the Turkish Penal Code

Instagram Account Hacking | Criminal Defense Lawyer | İzmir Lawyer Attorney Mustafa Yolcu

Instagram Account Hacking Under the Turkish Penal Code

It is undeniable that social media's influence on our daily lives has increased significantly. A common occurrence is the hijacking of social media accounts by malicious individuals through phishing, social engineering, or other attacks. While our legislation doesn't specifically define a crime for the illegality resulting from the hijacking of social media accounts, the relevant provisions of Articles 243 and subsequent articles of the Turkish Penal Code apply to such cybercrimes.

Legal Regulations

 Accessing the information system

Article 243- (1) Anyone who unlawfully enters or remains in all or part of an information system shall be sentenced to imprisonment for up to one year or a fine. (2) If the acts defined in the above paragraph are committed against systems that can be used for a fee, the sentence shall be reduced by up to half. (3) If the data contained in the system is destroyed or altered as a result of this act, imprisonment from six months to two years shall be imposed. (4) Anyone who unlawfully monitors data transfers within an information system or between information systems using technical means without entering the system shall be punished with imprisonment from one to three years.

Turkish Penal Code

Blocking, disrupting the system, destroying or altering data.

Article 244- (1) A person who obstructs or disrupts the operation of an information system shall be punished with imprisonment from one to five years. (2) A person who corrupts, destroys, alters, or renders inaccessible data in an information system, inserts data into the system, or sends existing data to another location shall be punished with imprisonment from six months to three years. (3) If these acts are committed on an information system belonging to a bank or credit institution or a public institution or organization, the sentence shall be increased by half. (4) If the commission of the acts defined in the above paragraphs does not constitute another crime, the person shall be sentenced to imprisonment from two to six years and a judicial fine of up to five thousand days.

Turkish Penal Code

Case law

Supreme Court 11th Criminal Chamber, Case No. 2008/18190E, Decision No. 2009/3058K
 “"Given that it is alleged and accepted that the defendant illegally accessed the account of İmalat Pazarlama Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited company, of which the plaintiff is an authorized representative, at Türkiye E. Bankası Denizli branch via the internet, but did not manipulate the account or transfer funds to another account after accessing it, it should be considered that the defendant's actions constitute the crime defined in Article 243/1 of the Turkish Penal Code No. 5237."”

Supreme Court 8th Criminal Chamber, Case No. 2012/33557, Decision No. 2013/25987 K.

“Based on the circumstances of the case, the statements of the participant in the proceedings, the written responses from Microsoft regarding the access to the participant's email account via an internet account linked to a phone belonging to the family company where the defendant also worked, the results of the police investigation, the photographs submitted by the participant with their petition dated December 22, 2010, and the entire case file; the defendant, who obtained the passwords to the participant's email and Facebook accounts, accessed these accounts, conducted correspondence on the Facebook account, and prevented the participant from accessing these accounts by changing the password, should have been sentenced in accordance with Article 244/2 of the Turkish Penal Code, which corresponds to their actions, but instead, an acquittal was issued with the written justification…”

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