A Public Announcement on Personal Data Processing Activities of Research Companies by Dialing Random Numbers was published
On 26.08.2024, the Personal Data Protection Authority (Authority) published a Public Announcement on “Personal Data Processing Activities of Research Companies Using ‘Random Number Dialing and Telephone Interview Method’ for Statistical Research” (Announcement).
The significant points in the Announcement are briefly summarized below:
- Firstly, the Authority emphasizes that the processing of personal data for official statistical purposes or for purposes such as research, planning and statistics upon anonymization is within the scope of the exceptional cases to which the Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (Law) will not apply.
- In the incident subject to the complaints, research companies randomly generate phone numbers and make survey calls to these numbers. During these calls, the explicit consent of the data subject is requested and if the data subject does not give explicit consent, the call is terminated. Upon termination of the call, the number in question is recorded in the do-not-call list, never to be called again. Moreover, personal data such as the voice recording of the call, the traffic log and the phone number of the data subject are processed and stored for 2 years using the pseudonymization method.
- The Authority considers that personal data processing activities carried out without anonymization in research processes must comply with the Law and that such activities will not be covered by the exception mentioned above.
- In addition, the Authority states that such personal data processing activities may be deemed lawful pursuant to Article 5/2 (f) of the Law (data processing is necessary for the legitimate interests of the data controller, provided that it does not harm the fundamental rights and freedoms of the data subject) if they are carried out for the purposes of quality control of the research, fulfillment of the obligations of the researcher and proving the fulfillment of the obligations in case of a legal dispute.
- The Authority further emphasizes, however, that in order for such processing to be lawful, a layered disclosure must be made to the data subjects and that the telephone call must then continue if the data subjects give their explicit consent.
All rights of this article are reserved. This article may not be used, reproduced, copied, published, distributed, or otherwise disseminated without quotation or Erdem & Erdem Law Firm's written consent. Any content created without citing the resource or Erdem & Erdem Law Firm’s written consent is regularly tracked, and legal action will be taken in case of violation.
Other Contents
The Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Transfer of Personal Data Abroad (Regulation) entered into force through publication in the Official Gazette dated 10.07.2024 and numbered 32598. Important regulations are as follows...
On 17.05.2024, the Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority (Authority) released the draft documents concerning standard contracts and binding corporate rules, which are stipulated as appropriate safeguards for cross-border transfer under the amendments to the Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data...
On 09.05.2024, the Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority (Authority) published the Draft Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Transfer of Personal Data Abroad (Draft) and opened the Draft for public opinion and assessment. In this context, opinions and suggestions regarding the...
On 18.04.2024, it was announced that a cooperation protocol (Protocol) was signed between the Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority and the Personal Data Protection Board of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus...
The Law on Amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure and Certain Acts numbered 7499 (Law), including Amendments to the Law on Personal Data Protection numbered 6698 (LPDP) was published in the Official Gazette dated 12.03.2024 and numbered 32487...
On 16.02.2024, the Justice Committee of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) received the bill (Bill) on the long-awaited amendment to the Law on Personal Data Protection No. 6698 (LPDP). It can be said that the Bill, which introduces regulations similar to the European Union General Data Protection...
On 12.02.2024, the Information Note on Processing of Personal Data on the Legal Ground of Being Stipulated by Laws (Information Note) was published. The Information Note aims to clarify the scope and meaning of the personal data processing legal ground of “being expressly stipulated by law” in Article 5/2(a) of...
On 24.01.2024, the Personal Data Protection Authority published the Guidelines on the Protection of Personal Data in Election Activities (Guidelines). The Guidelines aim to remind public administrations, political parties, candidates, and voters involved in election activities of their obligations or rights under...
On 19.01.2024, the Personal Data Protection Authority published the Deepfake Information Note (Information Note). The purpose of the Information Note is to provide a better understanding of what Deepfake technology is, which is formed from the words deep learning and fake. The key points in the Information Note...
On 16.01.2024, the Personal Data Protection Authority published Guidelines on the Processing of Republic of Türkiye Identity Numbers (Guidelines). The purpose of the Guidelines are to provide guidance to data controllers by setting out the provisions of the legislation envisaging the processing of Turkish...
The Decision of the Personal Data Protection Board Regarding the Exemption of Village Legal Entities from the Registration Obligation in the Data Controllers Registry, dated 14/12/2023 and numbered 2023/2135 (Decision) is published in the Official Gazette dated 12.01.2024 and numbered 32427...
The Personal Data Protection Authority has published a public announcement dated 13.11.2023 regarding the personal data processed in order to send a verification code via SMS to the data subjects during the transactions at the cash register following shopping. You may find a brief explanation of the...
With the decision of the Personal Data Protection Board (Board) dated 06.07.2023 and numbered 2023/1154, the “annual financial balance sheet total” adopted by the Board as an exception criteria to the obligation to register to the Data Controllers’ Registry has been increased from 25 million Turkish Liras to...
The decision by the Irish Data Protection Authority (Authority) dated 12.05.2023 on Meta Platforms Ireland Limited (Meta Ireland) (Decision) has been announced on 22.05.2023. Pursuant to the Decision, an administrative fine of 1.200.000.000 Euros was imposed on Meta Ireland...
The Regulation on the Collection, Storage and Sharing of Insurance Data (Regulation) entered into force through publication in the Official Gazette dated 18.10.2022 and numbered 31987. Some of the important provisions introduced by the Regulation are summarized...
On 05.08.2022, the Personal Data Protection Authority (“Authority”), published Guideline on Banking Sector Good Practices Regarding the Personal Data Protection (“Guideline”). The purpose of the Guideline is guiding data controller banks regarding the personal data processing activities carried out...
On 14.07.2022, the European Parliament Research Service published a briefing (“Briefing”) for the impact assessment (“IA”) of the regulation of the European Parliament and the European Council on harmonised rules on fair access to and use of data (“Data Act”), submitted on 23.02.2022...
The Regulation on Processing of Land Registry and Cadastre Data and Transactions Held in Electronic Environment regulating the procedure and principles regarding the process of the data in the Central Database of the General Directorate of Land Registry and the transactions held in electronic...
The Regulation on Process and Protection of Personal Data by the Social Security Institution (“Regulation”) entered into force through its publication in the Official Gazette dated 19.02.2022 and numbered 31755.
Regulation on Processing of Personal Data and Protection of Confidentiality in the Electronic Communications Sector was Published
The Personal Data Protection Board Ex-Officio Initiated An Investigation against WhatsApp
The Personal Data Protection Authority’s New Resolution
The Board’s Decision Regarding Registration Obligation of Commercial Enterprises Affiliated to Associations, Foundations and Unions to the VERBIS has been Published
The Personal Data Protection Board Announced Its Decision Regarding the WhatsApp Investigation Initiated Ex-Officio