Turkish Data Protection Authority Publishes a Public Announcement Regarding the Fulfilment of the Disclosure Obligation Within the Scope of Mediation Activities

The public announcement (“Announcement”) regarding the fulfilment of the disclosure obligation within the scope of mediation activities by the Turkish Data Protection Authority (“Authority”) was published on the official website of the Authority on 13 January 2025.

The announcement is as follows in summary;

The procedures and principles of mediation activities, which is one of the alternative dispute resolution methods for private law disputes, are regulated in the Law No. 6325 on Mediation in Civil Disputes (“Law No. 6325”).
Application to the mediator is voluntary or as a condition of litigation pursuant to Article 18/A of the Law No. 6325.
In accordance with Article 11 of Law No. 6325, “At the outset of the mediation process, the mediator is obliged to adequately inform the parties about the principles, process, and potential outcomes of mediation.”
Within the scope of the disclosure obligation set forth in Article 10 of the Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (“Law No. 6698”), the objective is to inform the relevant individuals about the identity of the data controller and its representative, if any, the purpose of data processing, the recipients and purposes of data transfers, the method and legal basis for data collection, and the rights enumerated in Article 11 of Law No. 6698.
The responsibility for proving the fulfilment of the disclosure obligation lies with the data controller. The procedures and principles to be followed in fulfilling the disclosure obligation are stipulated in the Communiqué on the Procedures and Principles to be Followed in the Fulfilment of the Disclosure Obligation.
In order for personal data processing to be lawful, the data controller or persons authorized by the data controller must inform the relevant individuals about the matters listed in Article 10 of Law No. 6698. This obligation must be fulfilled at the latest during the acquisition of personal data. If the personal data is not obtained directly from the data subject, the information must be provided within a reasonable period after the acquisition. In cases where the personal data will be used for communication with the data subject, the information should be given during the first communication. If the personal data will be transferred, the relevant individuals must be informed at the latest at the time of the first transfer.
Mediators are considered data controllers under the provisions of Law No. 6698 and are subject to the obligations imposed on data controllers.
However, as can be inferred from the provisions of Law No. 6325, the matters that the mediator is required to inform the parties about differ from those outlined in the disclosure obligation under Article 10 of Law No. 6698.
In this context, pursuant to Article 11 of Law No. 6325, the mediator’s obligation to inform the parties about the principles, process, and outcomes of the mediation at the beginning of the mediation activity does not imply that the disclosure obligation outlined in Article 10 of Law No. 6698 has been fulfilled.

Regarding the personal data processed within the scope of mediation activities, the mediator must fulfil the disclosure obligation by informing the relevant persons separately on the issues listed in Article 10 of Law No. 6698.

You can access the full text of the announcement (in Turkish) here.

Kind regards,

Zumbul Attorneys-at-Law

info@zumbul.av.tr