RESTRICTIONS ON DIVIDEND DISTRIBUTIONS TO CONTINUE FOR ANOTHER THREE MONTHS:

The Presidential Decree numbered 2948 published in the Official Gazette dated 18 September 2020 extended the term for the restrictions on the distribution of dividends from 30 September 2020 to 31 December 2020.

TERMS OF TERMINATION PROHIBITION AND MANDATORY UNPAID LEAVE EXTENDED YET AGAIN:

The Presidential Decree numbered 2930 published in the Official Gazette dated 3 September 2020 extended the terms for termination prohibition and mandatory unpaid leave for two months

TERM OF SHORT-TERM WORKING SUBSIDY EXTENDED YET AGAIN:

The Presidential Decree numbered 2915 published in the Official Gazette dated 30 August 2020 extended the period of short-term working subsidy for 2 months for the same employees under the same conditions in workplaces that applied for short-term working before 30 June 2020 due to force majeure events originating from Covid-19.

DEADLINES FOR THE CENTRALIZED COMMERCIAL MESSAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ARE EXTENDED AGAIN:

Pursuant to the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Commercial Communication and Commercial Electronic Messages which was published in the Official Gazette today, the deadline for registering the opt-in consents of recipients with IYS is extended again to 1 December 2020.

REMINDER: MARKETING CONSENTS MUST BE TRANSFERRED TO THE COMMERCIAL MESSAGE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM BY 31 AUGUST 2020:

Accordingly, our clients who deliver electronic commercial messages must register with IYS and transfer the opt-in consents collected from their recipients to IYS  by 31 August 2020.  Opt-in consents that have not been transferred to IYS until 31 August 2020 will be considered invalid as of 1 September 2020.

PARLIAMENT FINALLY AMENDS INTERNET LAW: NEW SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATIONS AND REMOVAL OF CONTENT:

The Amending Law does not introduce a material change in scope of the Internet Law, which already covered social media operators as hosting providers. However, it considerably increases the administrative and judicial fines for Foreign Social Network Providers and obliges them to open communication channels in Turkey.

TURKISH DATA PROTECTION BOARD RECOGNIZES RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN :

The Data Protection Board has recently announced its decision numbered 2020/481 on its website, providing its view on the right to be forgotten. The Board has defined “right to be forgotten” as a request for delisting results displayed on a search engine when an individual’s name and surname is searched therein. The Board has also determined the criteria it will take into account in reviewing cases concerning right to be forgotten requests.

Amendments to Turkish Civil Procedure Rules:

PARLIAMENT BROADENS PRESIDENT’S AUTHORITY TO EXTEND THE TERM OF TERMINATION PROHIBITION UNTIL 30 JUNE 2021:

As the Labour law currently stands, termination prohibition will end on 17 August 2020. However, the extension of the president’s authority to extend the term of the prohibition for almost a year can be interpreted as a sign that the term of termination prohibition and unpaid leave is likely to be extended further.

COMPETITION LAW AMENDED TO FURTHER HARMONIZE IT WITH EU LAW:

The Law Amending the Law on the Protection of Competition was published in the Official Gazette dated 24 June 2020 and numbered 31165 and entered into force on the same day. The preamble of the Amending Law provides that the amendments aim to harmonize the Law on the Protection of Competition numbered 4054 with the European Union laws and to establish a modern competition legislation.