Personal right violation in social media journalism

In this digitalized world, social media has accelerated to spread of news while simultaneously introducing significant issues related to personality rights. This study aims to analyze the existing legal framework by addressing personality rights, social media journalism, and the conflicting values between these concepts. This research is structured in three parts. The first part of the research examines the fundamentals of personality rights. It elaborates on the scope and characteristics of these rights in terms of material, moral, and economic integrity. Furthermore, the concepts of social media and social media journalism are explored in comparison to traditional media and the historical transformation of media communication. In this context, the applicability of the Press Law No. 5187 to social media journalism and the regulations introduced by Law No. 7418 are analyzed. The second part delves into how personality rights violations occur in the social media journalism and discusses the grounds for legality, such as consent, the predominance of private or public interest, and the exercise of authority granted by law. Contemporary issues, including disinformation, misinformation, and social media-driven mobbing, are also examined. The ethical boundaries of journalism and the balance between freedom of the press and personality rights are discussed within the framework of criteria established by the Court of Cassation, including public interest, factual accuracy, timeliness, and intellectual relevance of news. The final part of the research focuses on legal mechanisms for protecting personality rights. The provisions of the Turkish Civil Code related to personality rights violations, along with types of lawsuits such as preventive action, cessation, determination, compensation (both material and moral damages), and restitution of gains from unauthorized acts, are discussed. The applicability of these protective lawsuits in cases of personality rights violations in social media journalism is evaluated. Additionally, tools such as access restrictions, the right to reply and correction, and content removal, as regulated under Law No. 5651 concerning online publications, are detailed. This study emphasizes that social media journalism should subject to the same legal and ethical standards as traditional media. It concludes that improving existing legal regulations, fostering a culture of conscious media consumption, and striking a balance between public interest and individual rights are essential for preventing violations of personality rights.