A public announcement was made by the Personal Data Protection Board about the draft regulation on the procedures and principles regarding the transfer of personal data abroad.

Article 34 of the Code of Criminal Procedure No. 7499 and the  Law on the Amendment of Certain Laws published in the Official Gazette dated 12.03.2024 and numbered 32487 and Article 9 of the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 titled "Transfer of personal data abroad" have been amended. The said amendment will enter into force on 01.06.2024. With the amended article, new systems have been introduced for the transfer of personal data abroad. One of the innovations introduced is that the obligation to notify the Authority within 5 working days following the signing of the Standard Contracts and the provision of international transfer is subject to the permission of the Board.

With the innovation introduced in Article 9 of the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698, it is stipulated in the eleventh paragraph that the procedures and principles regarding the implementation of the article will be regulated by the regulation. Thereupon, the Draft Regulation on the Procedures and Principles Regarding the Transfer of Personal Data Abroad was prepared by the Personal Data Protection Board.

With the decision of the Personal Data Protection Board numbered 2024/762 and dated 09.05.2024, it is envisaged to obtain the opinions of the public regarding the draft regulation. In the announcement made on its website, the Board stated that it is possible to send the relevant opinions and evaluations in this context to the e-mail address hukuk@kvkk.gov.tr until 20.05.2024 in accordance with the Opinion Form attached to the Regulation on the Procedures and Principles of Legislation Preparation and in a processable format. He added that the opinions to be submitted after the specified date will not be taken into consideration.

 

According to the examination made by an expert committee appointed by the French Presidency, it is predicted that children under the age of three should not spend any time in front of the screen, and this period should be strongly limited until the age of six.

The delegation also proposed to prohibit children under the age of 11 from having a mobile phone and children under the age of 13 from having a phone with internet access.

It is also regulated in the report that social media applications should be banned for children under the age of 15 and that children over the age of 15 should have access to ethically evaluated platforms such as "Bluesky" operating in France.

It has also been stated that social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram or Snapchat should not be made available to young people until they reach the age of 18.

Another issue is related to toys. It has also been proposed to prohibit toys that can be connected to the internet other than those used as sound for storytelling.

The report also criticized the practices of technology companies such as “endless scrolling and automatic video launch”. Experts have noted that social media can be a “risk factor” for depression and anxiety, and they have found that children are exposed to pornographic and violent content at a “worrying” level. The report also stated that “There is a very clear consensus on both indirect and direct negative effects of screens”. In the study, it was stated that the time spent in front of the screen "Has consequences in terms of children's health, development and the future of the society".

The bill aims to reduce the independent constructive nature of online sales and gaming sites and empower consumers with social media applications that have a large number of users to attract the attention of users and raise children in a safe environment.

 

It was announced by the Competition Board on 10.05.2024 that an investigation was initiated against the limited liability company operating in the industrial enzyme sector.

The aforementioned limited company and the international company to which it is affiliated is a company that produces industrial enzymes that are used in the production of almost all consumer products such as pharmaceuticals, food, cleaning/hygiene, textiles, paper and leather in Turkey and are very common in these production processes.

The investigation will be carried out within the scope of determining whether it violates the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition by complicating the activities of its competitors and excluding its competitors from the market.

In the preliminary investigation the Board conducted about the company, it focused on these issues and decided to initiate an investigation:

-That the Company has a very large portfolio,

-That the company is dominant in the enzyme market, which must be used in the flour and bakery sector,

-That the points that purchase these products from him/her apply discounts in a way that prevents them from purchasing products from another company,

-Thus, it violated Article 6 of the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition by preventing other enzyme producers from making sales.

Article 6 of the Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition is regulated by the legislator as "It is unlawful and prohibited for one or more undertakings to abuse their dominant position in a goods or services market in the whole or part of the country with agreements or joint behaviors to be made alone or with others."

During the investigation period, it will also be determined whether the actions of the company to apply discounts to the points purchasing products from it in order to prevent the sale of other enzyme producers are disruptive to competition in terms of flour and other enzyme types other than the enzyme used in the bakery sector.

In addition to the investigation, the Board has taken a precautionary decision not to apply practices to prevent the sales of competing enzyme producer companies in new sales made to prevent irreparable damages until the decision to be taken as a result of the investigation.