'Screenshots' will no longer be considered evidence: Here are the details of that ruling...

With a ruling by the 4th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, digital messages will no longer qualify as evidence on their own and must be presented in a reliable and verifiable manner.

Providing information regarding the ruling, Lawyer Cem Duman explained that the fact that messaging records concerning the crime of threat were submitted only as photocopies, that no confirmation was obtained from the Telecommunications Communication Presidency, and that the originals and a message detection report were not present on the victim's phone were accepted as the grounds for the acquittal decision. With a ruling by the 4th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, digital messages will no longer qualify as evidence on their own and must be presented in a reliable and verifiable manner.

"CANNOT BE EVIDENCE ON ITS OWN"

Duman stated the following:

"Recently, everyone wants to easily submit screenshots taken from their phones as evidence to the court. The submission of screenshots was primarily shown as evidence in proving crimes of blackmail, threat, and insult via WhatsApp. Considering that screenshots can be easily tampered with, this evidence will not be accepted as sole evidence in courts."

"MUST BE RECORDED"

"For these screenshots to qualify as evidence, they must be supported by other evidence. In this context, it can be said that if screenshots of social media correspondence are not electronically verified or recorded with a message detection report at the police station, they will not be considered as evidence in criminal cases."

"OFFICIAL VERIFICATION IS IMPORTANT"

"Another important point is that the authenticity and integrity of the submitted evidence must be provable. Therefore, it is important to save and protect communication history to be used as evidence in legal processes. This ruling serves as a reminder that if digital evidence is not presented in accordance with legal criteria, it cannot be a reliable basis in criminal proceedings. It will now be more difficult for records such as screenshots to be considered sufficient evidence on their own, and the importance of telecommunication records and official verification will increase."