The Personal Data Protection Authority (“Authority”) has announced that, based on complaints submitted to it, creditor attorneys have accessed the phone numbers of debtors’ relatives and shared the debtor’s personal data, including name, surname, and debt information, with such third parties through phone calls or text messages. This practice poses significant risks in terms of compliance with the legislation governing the processing of personal data.
Law No. 6698 on the Protection of Personal Data (“Law”) permits the processing of personal data only in accordance with the principles of lawfulness, legitimacy, purpose limitation, and proportionality. Pursuant to Article 5 of the Law, the processing of personal data without the explicit consent of the data subject is, as a rule, prohibited. The processing of data belonging to debtors’ relatives cannot be justified under the limited exceptions set out by the Law.
Furthermore, Article 12 of the Law obliges data controllers to take all necessary technical and administrative measures to prevent unlawful access to and processing of personal data. Failure to comply with these obligations may result in administrative fines ranging from TRY 15,000 to TRY 1,000,000 under Article 18 of the Law.
The Authority emphasized that such practices – sharing debtor information with third parties and processing the personal data of relatives – may constitute a violation of the Law. Accordingly, creditor attorneys must ensure that only the debtor’s data is processed, and that data security obligations are strictly observed throughout debt collection processes.
For detailed information and professional support during the compliance process, feel free to contact us.
This Legal Alert has been prepared for general information purposes only on current legal issues, and the evaluations contained in this Legal Alert do not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion. It is not possible to impose any liability on SRP-Legal Law Office due to the content of this Legal Alert. It is recommended to obtain the opinion of a legal advisor regarding your questions and enquires within the scope of this Legal Alert.
