AMENDMENTS INTRODUCED TO THE COMMUNIQUE ON THE EXCEPTIONS TO FOREIGN CURRENCY CONTRACT PROHIBITIONS:

The scope of exceptions to foreign currency contract prohibitions has been amended.

Data Protection Board’s Latest Resolution Stipulates Administrative Fines up to 1 Million TRY for Unauthorized Advertisements and Calls:

According to the latest resolution of the Data Protection Board, data controllers who illegally transmit advertisement notices to e-mail addresses and mobile phones of the data subjects via e-mail messages, SMS or calls and data processors who use these data on behalf of the data controller without the explicit consent of the data subjects shall be fined for an amount ranging from 15.000 TRY to 1 million TRY.

FAQ ON RESTRICTIONS ON DETERMINATION OF CONTRACT VALUES IN FOREIGN CURRENCY OR INDEXED TO A FOREIGN CURRENCY PUBLISHED:

On 12.10.2018 the Ministry of Treasury and Finance ("Ministry") published a press release in relation to the agreements denominated in foreign currencies, which included explanations for the frequently asked questions (“FAQ”).

Turkey Requires Ship Recycling Plan under the HK Convention:

By the declaration published in the Official Gazette today, it has been announced that Turkey has opted to require the submission for approval of a Ship Recycling Plan before a ship may be recycled in Turkey’s authorized Ship Recycling Facilities under the International Convention on the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (“Convention”).

THE COMMUNIQUE ON EXCEPTIONS ALLOWING COMPANIES TO CONTRACT UNDER FOREIGN CURRENCIES HAS BEEN PUBLISHED:

Exceptions allowing companies to contract under foreign currencies has been published. Presidential Decree dated 13 September 2018 had brought restrictions to agreements denominated in foreign currencies or indexed to foreign currencies concluded between real persons and legal entities residing in Turkey.

REGISTRATION OBLIGATIONS HAVE STARTED: CONTROLLERS HAVE 12 MONTHS TO REGISTER:

As our readers may recall from our earlier coverage of the data controllers’ registry, Data Protection Board (“DPB”), with its decision numbered 2018/88 (“Decision”), had previously determined the timeline for data controllers’ obligation to register with the data controllers’ registry system, “VERBIS”. According to the DPB’s Decision, registration obligations for the data controllers below have started.

MAJOR AMENDMENTS INTRODUCED TO RULES GOVERNING TRAFFIC IN THE TURKISH STRAITS:

PRESIDENTIAL DECREE IMPOSES RESTRICTIONS ON DETERMINATION OF CONTRACT VALUES IN FOREIGN CURRENCY OR INDEXED TO A FOREIGN CURRENCY:

Presidential Decree dated 13 September 2018 brought restrictions to agreements denominated in foreign currencies or indexed to foreign currencies concluded between real persons and legal entities residing in Turkey. The Ministry of Treasury and Finance has yet to publish any exceptions to this rule and the Minister has declared that the relevant regulation will soon be published.

DATA PROTECTION BOARD PUBLISHES THE LATEST ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS: CONTROLLER RECEIVES TRY 200,000 FINE:

The Turkish Data Protection Board (“DPB”), the decision making body of the Turkish Data Protection Authority (“DPA”), has recently published on its website a number of enforcement actions it has taken against the data controllers for the breach of the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law (“Data Protection Law”).

DATA PROTECTION BOARD ANNOUNCES REGISTRATION OBLIGATIONS WILL START IN OCTOBER:

A series of decisions by the Data Protection Board (“DPB”) in relation to the obligation to register with the Data Controllers’ Registry (“Registry”) were recently published in the Official Gazette. The decisions set out new exemptions from registration obligations and provide the timeline for registration with the Registry.