As per to the Personal Data Protection Law No:6698 the data controllers have to register to the Data Controllers Registry ("Registry") prior to commencing data processing.
However, above-mentioned article states that considering the objective criteria that shall be designated by the Personal Data Protection Board ("Board") such as the characteristics and the number of data to be processed, whether or not data processing is based on any law, or whether data will be transferred to third parties, the Board may set forth exemptions to the obligation to register to the Registry.
The Board's decision regarding the exemptions to the obligation to register to the Registry is published on Official Gazette dated 15 May 2018.
According to the decision the exemptions are as follows:
- The natural or legal persons who process personal data wholly or partly by otherwise than the automatic means which form part of a filing system,
- Notaries operating under the notary law,
- Associations, foundations and trade-unions which processes personal data in accordance with the relevant legislation and their purposes, limited to the fields of activity and only for its employees, members and benefactors,
- Political parties operating under the Law on Political Parties,
- Lawyers that operating under the Attorneyship Law No:1136,
- Freelance financial consultants and certified public accountants operating under Law on Freelance financial consultants and certified public accountants,
It must be noted, data controllers that are exempted from the obligation of registry still have to comply with the Personal Data Protection Law.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.