Turkey
Summary
Law: Law on Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 (as amended by the Regulation on Procedures and Principles Regarding the Cross-border Transfer of Personal Data (only available in Turkish here) (the Regulation)) (the Law, as amended)
Regulator: Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK)
Summary: The Law, as amended received Presidential approval and entered into force on April 7, 2016. Its final text was published in the Official Gazette, Number 29677 on the same date. The Law is the first general data protection law in Turkey and is largely based on the former European Data Protection Directive (Directive 95/46/EC).
The Law, as amended establishes the KVKK and the Data Protection Board as the supervisory authorities responsible for its enforcement. The KVKK mostly serves an administrative role, while the Board is the decision-making organ within the KVKK. The KVKK was established as an independent regulatory authority with institutional and financial autonomy and is responsible for ensuring personal data protection and raising awareness in this respect.
Secondary legislation introduced in Turkey in the form of regulations and communications has led to a development similar to the changes in the EU brought about by the GDPR. There are several areas in which the GDPR and the Law bear a strong similarity, including, for instance, their material scope. The Regulation details the new era regarding cross-border data transfers brought by the amendments to the Law, as amended entered into force on June 1, 2024.
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