A Framework For Examination Of Personal Devices Under The Turkish Competition Authority's New Guidelines – How It Converges With And Differs From The EU Practice

• Introduction

The Guidelines on Examination of Digital Data during On-site Inspections ("Guidelines"),¹ which was recently published by the Turkish Competition Authority ("Authority"), specifically refer to the procedure to be followed when the case handlers encounter situations calling for the examination of the personal devices during on-site inspections. The procedure referred in the Guidelines is an outline of general principles; there are no exhaustive explanations, various potential scenarios, nor an indication when such review (or the possibility of review) may come into play. To that end, this article aims to cover the decisional practice of the Authority prior to the Guidelines, as well as the approach in the EU, with regard to their investigative powers pertaining to the portable devices and devices allocated for personal use.