"Hello, I am calling you from ACME Dry Cleaning Company."
We are sure that most of those who read this article have experienced the above dialogue. With the development of technology, answers to questions such as how our personal data that we share with companies or individuals are stored, with whom it is shared and for what purposes have become more important than ever. As everyone probably knows, Turkey also took a step recently and the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 was published in the Official Gazette on 24.03.2016 and entered into force.
Before we talk about what the Personal Data Protection Law brings, we think it would be useful to take a look at what has been done about the protection of personal data in Europe in the past. It is stated that European countries started studies on the protection of personal data with Directive 95/46/EC in 1995, at a time when the Internet had not yet penetrated the lives of all people, and that these studies were published on the General Data Protection Regulation, published on April 14, 2016, nearly 20 years later. (GDPR), we see it enacted. In short, considering Turkey's EU membership process, we can say that these studies in European countries and GDPR had a great impact on the emergence of KVKK.
Protection of Personal Data in Turkey
Although it is thought that the first legal development regarding the protection of personal data in Turkey was the KVKK, in fact, as a result of the referendum held on September 12, 2010, the protection of personal data has become a constitutional right with the paragraph added to the 20th article of the Constitution of the Republic of Turkey.
(Additional paragraph: 12/9/2010-5982/2 art.) Everyone has the right to demand the protection of their personal data. This right; It also includes being informed about the personal data about the person, accessing these data, requesting their correction or deletion, and learning whether they are used for their purposes. Personal data can only be processed in cases stipulated by law or with the explicit consent of the person. The principles and procedures regarding the protection of personal data are regulated by law.
It is a constitutional right to demand the protection of personal data.
6 years after this constitutional amendment, with the Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data published on March 24, 2016, the principles and procedures that natural and legal persons must comply with were determined, and Turkey became one of the countries that protect the protection of personal data with the constitution and laws.
In our next content, you can find out what KVKK brings with it.