INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE LEGAL GUIDES TO: DATA PROTECTION 2016 – Turkey Chapter
Our readers will recall that ErsoyBilgehan has contributed to the Turkey chapter of International Comparative Legal Guides (“ICLG”) to Data Protection prepared by the Global Legal Group. The ICLG series provides current and practical comparative legal information on a range of practice areas and it follows a question and answer format which ensures thorough coverage of each topic within different legal systems worldwide.
The ICLG to Data Protection 2016 – Turkey Chapter provides a practical insight for general counsel, government agencies, private practice lawyers, and corporations, keeping them abreast of law and policy developments in 2016.
1. Relevant Legislation and Competent Authorities
1.1. What is the principal data protection legislation?
The principal data protection legislation is the Law on the Protection of Personal Data no. 6698 (the “Data Protection Law”), which was inspired by the European Union Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC (the “EU Directive”).
The Data Protection Law entered into force on 7 April 2016; however, its provisions relating to the transfer of data, rights of the data subject, data controllers registry, administrative fines, and criminal sanctions will enter into force six months following its effective date.
1.1. Is there any other general legislation that impacts data protection?
The general provisions that are applicable in terms of data protection are primarily the following:
- The Constitution of the Republic of Turkey: Right to privacy and data protection as per Article 20 and freedom of communication as per Article 22.
- Turkish Civil Code: Protection of personality against violations as per Article 24.
- Turkish Criminal Code: Unlawful recording, acquisition or dissemination of personal data as per Articles 135–138; unlawful surveillance of the transmission of data between information systems as per Article 243; and unlawful deletion or altering of data as per Article 24
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