Taiwanese man gets three months in prison for logging into wife’s Facebook account to win her back

The court in Taiwan ruled that spouses cannot log into their partners' Facebook accounts without consent. - Reuters

A MAN in Taiwan landed in the soup after logging into his wife’s Facebook account in a desperate bid to win her back after a bitter dispute.

For that privacy breach, a court sentenced him to three months in prison, commutable to a fine of NT$1,000 (S$43) a day.

The Taipei Times reported that the man, identified only as Mr Hou, and his wife, Ms Yu, had a heated row in May 2022.

Subsequently, Ms Yu left the home he shared with Mr Hou in Chiayi city, taking their daughter with her, and refused to take Mr Hou’s calls.

So, Mr Hou instead logged into Ms Yu’s Facebook account on May 31 and June 1 to send messages to his daughter and mother-in-law.

It was not indicated in the report whether he had his own Facebook account and, if he did, why he did not use that instead.

Using his wife’s Facebook account, Mr Hou told his daughter and mother-in-law he was sorry over what happened between him and Ms Yu, and asked that they intervene to get her to talk to him.

But when she learnt about the privacy breach, Ms Yu lodged a police report and later filed criminal charges against Mr Hou.

The court, in a ruling this week, sided with her. It said individuals do not forfeit the right to privacy when they get married.

This is to prevent people from being subjected to round-the-clock surveillance by their partners, particularly if an affair is suspected, it said.

The court found Mr Hou guilty of “offences against computer security” under Taiwan’s Criminal Code, both for using Ms Yu’s password to access her Facebook account without her consent, and for “altering (her) digital record” by using the account to send messages.

But since Mr Hou admitted to the offences and had no prior criminal record, it sentenced him to three months in prison, commutable to a fine of NT$1,000 per day. - The Straits Times/ANN