The EU’s GDPR and Türkiye’s KVKK Compared
With the recent implementation of the Turkish Travel Rule, data protection within the jurisdiction has received additional attention. Below, we discuss the similarities and differences between the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and Türkiye's Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698, or Kişisel Verileri Koruma Kanunu (KVKK).
Similarities between the EU’s GDPR and Türkiye’s KVKK
The EU’s GDPR and Türkiye’s KVKK aim to protect personal data and regulate organisations' processing and handling of it. Both regulations provide stringent guidelines on how citizens’ data should be collected, processed, and stored and on the security measures that must be installed by the public and private organisations that collect this data.
The GDPR and KVKK share the same fundamental principles: lawfulness, fairness, transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitation, and integrity. Organisations subject to the regulations must ensure they adhere to these requirements at all times to avoid penalisation.
A key similarity between the 2 regulations is the requirement for a legal basis for processing personal data. That is, data cannot be randomly collected and processed. The data subject must consent, and organisations must justify their reasoning for collecting the data. Data collection can only occur if consent has been granted; it falls under contractual necessity, legal obligations, public interest, or legitimate interest.
Data subject rights are also well-established in both regulations, allowing individuals to access, rectify, delete, or restrict the processing of their personal information.
Finally, both regulations emphasise that organisations must ensure data security through appropriate technical and organisational measures.
Differences between the EU’s GDPR and Türkiye’s KVKK
The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was passed by the EU Parliament in 2016 and came into force in 2018. Türkiye's Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) was published in the Official Gazette in 2016 and came into force simultaneously. The KVKK is largely aligned with the GDPR, but some key differences exist.
Reach of the Regulations
A significant difference between the GDPR and KVKK is in their territorial scope. The KVKK is limited to Türkiye. All natural or legal persons processing or handling personal data of Turkish citizens must comply with the KVKK.
The GDPR, on the other hand, applies to all EU member states and countries outside of the EU that process EU citizen data (Article 3). Therefore, any organisation within the EU processing EU citizens' personal data must comply with the GDPR, irrespective of its location.
Cross-border Data Transfers
While there are some similarities between the 2 regulations, the GDPR and KVKK have significant differences. Both regulations allow for the transfer of personal data across borders, but Türkiye's requirements are more stringent than those of the GDPR. According to the KVKK, personal data can only be moved outside of Türkiye under the same grounds that allow for their processing, which are more restrictive than the GDPR’s.
If the grounds for processing are not the explicit consent of the data subject, the KVKK adds 2 requisites to the data transfer:
The receiving country must offer a satisfactory level of protection, as assessed by the Data Protection Board (DPB) or
Both parties involved in the transfer must commit in writing to providing adequate protection, and this must receive the DPB's stamp of approval.
Please note that this is a simplified explanation of the topic. We will thoroughly examine it in an upcoming blog.
Learn More about Türkiye's Travel Rule
Legal Basis for Data Processing
The GDPR and KVKK also differ in the legal bases for processing. The GDPR allows for more flexibility, recognising 6 legal bases, which include legitimate interest, which allows organisations to process data without explicit consent under certain conditions. The KVKK, however, relies more heavily on consent, making it a stricter framework in some respects.
| GDPR | KVKK |
|---|---|
| Consent | Explicit Consent |
| Public Task | Provided by Laws |
| Vital Interests | Protection of life or physical integrity |
| Contractual Necessity | Contractual Necessity |
| Legal Obligation | Legal Obligation |
| No comparable legal basis to the KVKK | Data made public by the data subject |
| No comparable legal basis to the KVKK | Establishment, exercise, or protection of any right |
| Legitimate interests | Legitimate interests |
Inspection Obligations
Under the GDPR, each country is responsible for establishing its own Supervisory Authority, which must conduct all compliance inspections. Conversely, the KVKK mandates that the Personal Data Protection Authority Board appoint a “data controller” who will be responsible for processing, deleting, and collecting personal data.
Per the KVKK, a data controller is "a natural or legal person who determines the purposes and means of processing personal data and is responsible for establishing and managing the data recording system.”
Data Breach Notifications
According to the GDPR, organisations must notify the relevant authorities of a data breach within 72 hours of the event. The KVKK requires organisations to send the notification “as soon as possible” with no concrete deadline.
Data Portability
GDPR explicitly includes this right, ensuring that individuals have greater control over their data, whereas the KVKK does not directly address data portability. Similarly, automated decision-making and profiling are more strictly regulated under GDPR, ensuring that individuals are not subject to decisions made solely by automated processes without human intervention. The KVKK does not contain explicit provisions regulating this aspect.
Penalties and Fines
The 2 regulations differ in the enforcement of penalties in the case of non-compliance. The GDPR imposes fines up to EU 20 000 000 or 4% of the company’s annual turnover for non-compliance, whereas the KVKK’s range of TL 68 000 - 14 000 000 is not as crippling to firms.
| GDPR | KVKK | |
|---|---|---|
| Effective Date | 25 May 2018 | 7 April 2016 |
| Territorial Scope | Applies to entities processing EU residents’ data, regardless of location | Applies to organisations operating in Turkiye or processing Turkish citizens' data |
| Consent Requirements | Consent must be freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous | Consent is the primary basis for data processing (more restrictive) |
| Legal Bases for Processing | Six legal bases (including legitimate interest, contractual necessity, and compliance with a legal obligation) | Fewer legal bases (legitimate interest is more restrictive) |
| Supervisory Authority | Each EU country has a DPA | The Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority |
| Penalties | Penalties Fines up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover | Fines up to ~€250,000 (lower than GDPR) |
In Summary
While the GDPR and KVKK are designed to protect personal data, the GDPR is more comprehensive, with stricter enforcement, higher penalties, and a broader territorial reach. Both frameworks establish clear data processing, security, and subject rights guidelines, ensuring responsible data handling.
However, key differences set them apart. The GDPR allows for more flexibility in processing, includes stronger provisions on data portability and automated decision-making, and applies beyond EU borders. In contrast, the KVKK relies more heavily on consent, imposes stricter cross-border data transfer requirements, and enforces lower fines. As data protection laws evolve, businesses operating in both jurisdictions must stay informed and ensure compliance with their specific requirements, particularly with the recent implementation of the Turkish Travel Rule.
