The decision of the Personal Data Protection Board (“Board”) dated 06.01.2022 and numbered 2022/6, regarding the sharing of the personal data of the data subject on the website where the registry information of the company of which the data subject is a former partner was displayed (“Decision”) has been published.
In summary, in the complaint to the Personal Data Protection Authority (“Authority”), the data subject stated that:
The data subject’s name and surname were written under the heading of “former partners” on the website where the registry information of the company that she/he was a former partner of; that she/he no longer has legal or administrative ties with the company, therefore, does not want her/his personal data to be shared with third parties without consent, and that in this context, an application has been made verbally and in writing to the data controller Chamber of Commerce.
In the defence received on the subject, the Chamber of Commerce stated that,
- The registration, amendment and deregistration transactions are subject to registration in accordance with the provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code, and are produced in MERSIS as well as published in the Turkish Trade Registry Gazette,
- The indication of a person as a partner or former partner is public information and does not constitute personal data,
- The company information on the website of the data controller includes the information published in the Trade Registry Gazette and open to the examination of third parties.
In the evaluation made regarding the subject, the Board stated that;
- When a query is made from the Information Bank of the Chamber of Commerce about the Company of which the data subject is a former partner, it is seen that information on the transactions registered in the registry gazette, as well as information on the name, surname, position and capital amount of the partners and former partners are included,
- Anyone can examine the contents of the registry and all deeds and documents kept in the directorate, and that any changes in the registered facts will also be registered, and that such information is already available within the Chamber of Commerce within the framework of the relevant articles of the Turkish Commercial Code and the Trade Registry Regulation.
The Board has concluded that the reasons requiring the processing of the personal data in question are still valid and it has been decided that there is no action to be taken under the Personal Data Protection Law numbered 6698 regarding the request of the data subject in this respect.
You may reach the full Turkish text of the Decision via the link below.
