Cyberbullying is all the behavior of constantly disturbing, harassing, threatening or humiliating a person on the internet. Although there is no direct title of "cyber bullying" in Turkish law, various penal articles are applied depending on the type of act.
Relevant Crime Types
1. Stalking - TCK Article 123/A
With this article added in 2022, a prison sentence of 6 months to 2 years is imposed on anyone who persistently pursues, watches, records images/sounds, or tries to communicate in physical or virtual environments "in a way that creates serious fear for himself or his relatives".
Qualified cases: The penalty is increased if it is committed against a child, ex-spouse, or the person with whom the person is separated.
2. Disturbing the Peace and Tranquility of People (TCK Article 123)
In case of "persistently calling a person, making noise, or engaging in any other unlawful behavior for the same purpose, with the sole purpose of disturbing the peace and tranquility", imprisonment from 3 months to 1 year.
3. Threat (TCK article 106)
Sex extortion (blackmail with intimate images) and openly threatening messages on social media are evaluated in this context.
4. Insult (TCK article 125)
Do not create a fake profile or defame the person's profile.
5. Sexual Harassment (TCK article 105)
Sexual messages, photo sharing, sending "unsolicited photos" (DM, e-mail).
6. Violation of Privacy (TCK Article 134)
Sharing of a person's images, photographs, or voice recordings without permission, behavior that constitutes "revenge porn".
Sextortion (Blackmail with Intimate Content)
Threats such as "I will publish your images" or "I will send them to your acquaintances":
- TCK Article 107 (Blackmail): 1-3 years of imprisonment and a judicial fine of up to 5,000 days
- TCK article 134: Privacy of private life
- TCK Article 106: Threat (according to its content)
In case of sextortion, law enforcement should be contacted immediately, and 5651/m.9 application should be made to prevent the spread of the content. It is strongly recommended that the victim should not send money; 95% of perpetrators repeat the request.
What the Victim Should Do
Law No. 6284 - Protection Against Domestic Violence
In cyberbullying coming from familiar people such as ex-spouse, lover, partner, According to Law No. 6284 on the Protection of Family and Prevention of Violence Against Women:
- Restraining order (ban on approaching the victim)
- Communication ban (phone, e-mail, social media)
- Sanction: coercive imprisonment in case of violation
Supreme Court Approach
In its established decisions, the 14th Criminal Chamber of the Supreme Court of Appeals states that sextortion acts are committed as "blackmail + threat + violation of privacy" and that each of them can be evaluated separately.
Compensation Cases
The victim may file a lawsuit for material and moral damages against the perpetrator. The amount of non-pecuniary compensation is determined by taking into account the prevalence of the action, the position of the victim and its psychological impact.
Cyberbullying cases require rapid evidence collection and precise management; It is important to get support from experienced lawyer to minimize victimization.