The Crime of (Disinformation) Publicly Disseminating Misleading Information (TPC Art. 217/A)

With the 29th article of the "Law on Amendments to the Press Law and Certain Laws" no. 7418, a new provision has been added, following the 217th article of the Turkish Penal Code, with the title of "publicly disseminating misleading information to the public", and an independent crime type has been envisaged in the crimes against public peace section. In order for the provisions of Article 217/A to be implemented, false information regarding the country's internal and external security, public order and general health must be publicly disseminated in a way that is likely to disrupt public peace. In addition, the perpetrator must act “solely with the motive of creating anxiety, fear or panic among the public”. However, the regulation does not include details regarding the application of the criminal provision. For this reason, the issues of how the criminal provision will be applied, what constitutes freedom of expression and dissemination of thought, and what falls within the scope of the crime of disinformation will develop with judicial precedents, and this situation will bring about many discussions in terms of criminal law science. The Constitutional Court also ruled by a majority vote to reject the application for the annulment of this article and ruled that the provision in Article 217 of the TCK is not unconstitutional. This precedent and dissenting opinions are important in terms of understanding the type of crime. In the study, the type of crime was first addressed in terms of the protected legal value and human rights; then, the elements of the type of crime were focused on in terms of the general theory of crime; and finally, the possible problems that this regulation may create in terms of the principle of the rule of law were evaluated by also making use of judicial precedents.