The meaning of the concept of personal data, how personal data will be recorded and protected is determined by the “Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data”.
The unlawful acquisition of personal data is a sufficient reason for the occurrence of this offence. Unlawfully recorded personal data does not have to be secret. Recording of personal data is the “unlawful” recording of all data that the person does not submit to the information of unauthorised third parties, that is not known or easily accessible by everyone, that identifies or makes the identity of the person identifiable. The concept of personal data does not only consist of information such as name, surname, place of birth, etc. that enables the recognition of persons. In this context, all information that makes a person identifiable, such as e-mail address, telephone number, photograph, video, etc., falls within the scope of personal data.
Although the offence of recording personal data is one of the crimes against private life, it is not among the crimes whose prosecution is subject to complaint. When it is learnt that the offence has been committed in any way, an investigation should be initiated by the prosecutor’s office spontaneously. There is no complaint period for the offence of recording personal data.
The statute of limitations for the crime of unlawful recording of personal data is 8 years, and the crime committed against the victim must be reported to the prosecutor’s office before 8 years have elapsed from the date of the crime.
The penalty for the offence of unlawful recording of personal data is imprisonment from 1 year to 3 years (TPC Art. 135/1).
The offence of recording personal data;
By a public official (civil servant, etc.) and by abusing the authority given by his/her duty,
By benefiting from the convenience provided by a certain profession and art
If it is committed, the imprisonment sentence to be imposed in accordance with the relevant article of the TPC is increased by 1/2.
In parallel with the development of technology, it is useful to get legal assistance from a lawyer during the trial of the offence of recording personal data, which is one of the most committed crimes.
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