The Turkish Data Protection Law was published in the Official Gazette on April 7, 2016 and all of the provisions of the Law entered into force on October 7, 2016. With the establishment of the Data Protection Authority in January 2017, it is now critical for companies in Turkey to be in full compliance with the Turkish Data Protection Laws as non-compliance may result in criminal sanctions and administrative fines.

Specifically, pursuant to Turkish Criminal Law, illegal processing, collection or transmission of personal data may result in imprisonment of the BoD members or decision makers within the organization for up to 4 years. Further, non-compliance with the law may also result in administrative fines of up to TRY 1.000.000 (approx. USD 265.000) for each non-compliance.

The first step for compliance is to understand where you stand. In the video you may find 8 simple steps to understand where you stand for compliance with the Data Protection Laws in Turkey.

You may contact us for more information on our Data Protection Compliance Projects.

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.