What is the Personal Data Protection Law, KVKK?

Personal Data Protection Law What is KVKK?

What is the Personal Data Protection Law KVKK? Who does it cover? How will the internet change after the law comes into force? What responsibilities await users and publishers?

As of April 7, 2016, all categories of websites, applications and software on the Internet in Turkey will be subject to control within the scope of“KVKK“. Publishers and end-users will act in accordance with the relevant provisions of the law and legal regulations.

In this article, I will share information and documents about the “Personal Data Protection Law“, which is only valid within the borders of our country and binds everyone, whether they are citizens of the Republic of Turkey or not. It is a very new and unknown subject, so I thought it would be useful.

My next article will be about GDPR, the common acquis of the European Union countries on the Privacy of Personal Data.

KVKK Law History?

For this, we need to go back to the years when Turkey first met the computer. In the early 1980s, at a time when most of us did not know about it and most of us were not even alive, the computer entered our lives in its most primitive form.

In 1981, the“Convention on the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data” was signed with Law 108. After 10-15 years, computers started to enter our homes in the mid-90s, leaving workplaces. In our country in the 1990s, no studies or regulations were made within the scope of the protection or confidentiality of personal data.

• However, in 2000, a parliamentary commission was established for the first time for the“Personal Data Protection Law KVKK“.

• After this date, the“Draft Law on the Protection of Personal Data” was prepared in 2003.

• About 5 years later, in 2008, a new attempt was made to work on the Law.

• In 2011, the Constitutional Amendment added Article 20 on the Protection of Personal Data.
• December 26, 2014 The Bill was sent to the Sub-Committees for discussion.
• January 5, 2015 The draft was forwarded to the High Commissions.
• January 12, 2015 The Draft Law was passed by the EU Harmonization Commission.
• January 18, 2016 The Draft Law was approved by the Council of Ministers and submitted to Parliament.
• February 10, 2016 Parliamentary Justice Commission referred the Draft to Parliament.
• On March 17, 2016, the Convention No. 108 on the Protection of Individuals with regard to Automatic Processing of Personal Data was published in the Official Gazette and entered into force.
• April 7, 2016“Law No. 6698” entered into force after being adopted in the General Assembly of the Parliament and published in the Official Gazette.

What is Personal Data?

Personal Data refers to the data collected by the site software and 3rd party software and plug-ins belonging to tracking and analysis applications that we call“tracking code” when the user visits the website. With this data, the process of developing the site, creating statistical data and keeping log records within the scope of Law No. 5651 is carried out.

How and how this data will be collected and for what purpose it can be used is determined by the KVKK numbered 6698. Personal Data:

1. IP Address (Dynamic & Static IP Address)
2. Service Provider information
3. User Names
4. Email addresses
5. Contact details
6. User trends (product-category choices)
7. Login/logout date information
8. Location information.
9. User age/sex information
10. General Habits, tendencies, etc.