Log in or register
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn

ARTICLE · 12 SEPTEMBER 2025

Data Protection Law Matters Around The Globe

Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Contributor
Explore more from Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership

In July 2025, the Polish Data Protection Authority ("PDPO") imposed a significant GDPR fine of PLN 16.9 million (approximately EUR 4 million) on McDonald's Polska.

TurkeyPrivacy
Ebru Temizer
Ebru Temizer
Irmak Seymen Varat
Irmak Seymen Varat
Seray Apak Başaran
Seray Apak Başaran
Author LinkedIn connections

Poland: Record GDPR fine highlights risks of processor oversight failures

In July 2025, the Polish Data Protection Authority ("PDPO") imposed a significant GDPR fine of PLN 16.9 million (approximately EUR 4 million) on McDonald's Polska. This marks the second highest penalty to date in the Polish private sector and stemmed from a major data breach involving employee and franchisee staff information. The incident was traced to a publicly accessible file on a server used for managing staff schedules, exposing personal data including names, national identity numbers, passport details, and work schedules.

While McDonald's had executed a data processing agreement with its external PR services provider, the scheduling module was fully managed by the processor without any oversight from the controller. Critically, McDonald's failed to exercise its audit rights, conduct proper risk assessments, or ensure the involvement of its Data Protection Officer. The PDPO also

We operate a free-to-view policy, asking only that you register in order to read all of our content. Please login or register to view the rest of this article.

Register for freeORLog in

Related Articles

Legal Intelligence Newsletters: sign up for the latest legal and regulatory news on your chosen topics

Read more about

Related Comparative Guides

See more popular content from

Article

Turkiye Introduces New Age Verification And Child Protection Requirements For Social Network Providers

On 10 October 2026, the Regulation on the Provision of Differentiated Services for Children and Age Verification by Social Network Providers (the "Regulation") was published in the Official Gazette. Issued by the Cyber Security Presidency, the Regulation introduces mandatory age verification, restrictions on children's access to social networks and additional safeguards for users aged 15 to 17.
TurkeyPrivacy
Balcıoğlu Selçuk Eymirlioğlu Ardıyok Keki Attorney Partnership
Balcıoğlu Selçuk Eymirlioğlu Ardıyok Keki Attorney Partnership
Article

New Regulations For Protecting Children On Social Media In Turkey Minimum Age, Age Verification & Parental Controls

While the widespread use of social media by children offers significant opportunities for communication and access to information, it also presents various risks, including exposure to harmful content, cyberbullying, online exploitation, and threats to the protection of personal data. These risks have increased the importance of legal regulations aimed at protecting children in the digital environment.
TurkeyPrivacy
ADMD/Mavioglu & Alkan Law Office
ADMD/Mavioglu & Alkan Law Office
Article

New Age Verification And Child-Specific Service Obligations Introduced For Social Network Providers

Turkey's new regulation mandates strict age verification and child-specific protections for social media platforms, prohibiting services to users under 15 and requiring segregated, privacy-enhanced accounts for those aged 15-17. Social network providers must implement parental controls, restrict targeted advertising and profiling, and establish transparent appeal mechanisms, with enforcement beginning November 2026.
TurkeyPrivacy
Moroglu Arseven
Moroglu Arseven
Article

Data Protection Law In Turkey (KVKK): Compliance Obligations For Businesses

This article examines Turkey's personal data protection framework under Law No. 6698 from the perspective of companies operating in, selling into or otherwise handling data connected with the Turkish market. It addresses the distinction between data controllers and processors, lawful processing, the information duty, the 2024 reform of special-category data and cross-border transfers, the 2025 VERBIS exemption update, data subject requests, breach response and enforcement.
TurkeyPrivacy
ONGUR & PARTNERS
ONGUR & PARTNERS
Article

Sosyal Ağlarda Yaş Doğrulaması Ve Çocuk Hesaplarına İlişkin Yeni Yükümlülükler

Yönetmelik 1 Kasım 2026’da yürürlüğe girecek olup mevcut hesaplar için 31 Mart 2027’ye kadar süre tanımaktadır. Yükümlülüklere aykırılık hâlinde 5651 sayılı Kanun’un ilgili yaptırım hükümleri uygulanacağından sosyal ağ sağlayıcılarının kayıt akışlarını, çocuk hesaplarını ve itiraz süreçlerini yürürlük tarihinden önce gözden geçirmesi gerekmektedir
TurkeyPrivacy
ASY Legal
ASY Legal
Article

Implementation Procedures For Investment Funds Ordered Into Liquidation

With its decision No. 57/1708 dated 17.09.2026, the Capital Markets Board (the “CMB”) set out the liquidation procedures for the 131 investment funds established by Tera, A1 Capital, Atlas, Bulls, Hedef, Pardus and Pusula Portföy Yönetimi, whose liquidation had been ordered under its previous decision, and updated the relevant list of funds in the same decision.
TurkeyFinance and Banking
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Article

Developments Concerning Liquidity Measures In The Capital Markets And The Fund Liquidation Process

On 16 September 2026, the money market funds founded by Pusula Portföy Yönetimi A.Ş. defaulted after failing to meet the cash redemption requests received from investors, triggering a sharp sell off on Borsa Istanbul. The BIST 100 index lost 5.54% that same day and hit a circuit breaker; the selling soon spread to Tera Portföy funds as well. It became apparent that the problem was not confined to those two firms but also extended to Hedef, Atlas, A1 Capital, Pardus and Bulls Portföy.
TurkeyFinance and Banking
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Article

Turkish Capital Markets Board Introduces Measures On Investment Funds

Borsa Istanbul’s BIST 100 index came under significant selling pressure over three consecutive trading sessions between 15-17 September 2026. The index closed down 5.54% on 16 September, a move that triggered Borsa Istanbul’s index-linked circuit breaker, and negative momentum continued into the morning of 17 September. The sell-off was primarily triggered by a default at Pusula Portföy Yönetimi A.Ş., a portfolio management company, which failed to meet investor redemption requests from certain funds it manages in a timely manner. A similar liquidity problem emerged at Tera Portföy Yönetimi A.Ş., and this situation put pronounced pressure on the shares of both companies as well as on broader market indices.
TurkeyFinance and Banking
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Article

New Rules On Shareholding Disclosures And Actual Free Float: Assessment Of CMB Bulletin No. 2026/57

The Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (“CMB” or the “Board”), through its principle decision No. i-SPK.15.2 (dated 03.09.2026 and numbered 54/1614) (“Resolution”), has lowered to 3% the minimum shareholding disclosure threshold under the Material Events Disclosure Commu-niqué No. II-15.1 (“Communiqué”). The Reso-lution will apply as from the end of the day on 11.09.2026.
TurkeyCorporate/Commercial Law
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Article

Türkiye’s Artificial Intelligence Action Plan For 2026 Published

Presidential Circular No. 2026/9, dated 17 August 2026, was published in the Official Gazette on 18 August 2026. The Circular requires public institutions and organisations to carry out the necessary work and provide the support needed to implement the Türkiye Artificial Intelligence Action Plan (the “Plan”), which sets out Türkiye’s artificial intelligence roadmap for the 2026–2030 period.
TurkeyTechnology
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Article

Tasfiyesine Karar Verilen Yatırım Fonları İçin Uygulama Esasları

Sermaye Piyasası Kurulu (“Kurul”) 17.09.2026 tarihli ve 57/1708 sayılı kararı ile, bir önceki kararında tasfiyesine karar verilen ve Tera, A1 Capital, Atlas, Bulls, Hedef, Pardus ve Pusula Portföy Yönetimi tarafından kurulmuş toplam 131 yatırım fonunun tasfiye usul ve esasları belirlenmiş, ilgili fon listesi de aynı kararla güncellenmiştir.
TurkeyFinance and Banking
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Article

Sermaye Piyasalarında Likidite Tedbirleri ve Fon Tasfiye Sürecine İlişkin Gelişmeler

16.09.2026 tarihinde, Pusula Portföy Yönetimi A.Ş.’nin kurucusu olduğu para piyasası fonlarının yatırımcılardan gelen nakit iade taleplerini karşılayamayarak temerrüde düşmesi, Borsa İstanbul’da sert bir satış dalgasını tetiklemiştir. BIST 100 endeksi aynı gün %5,54 değer kaybederek devre kesici uygulamasına konu olmuş, satış dalgası kısa sürede Tera Portföy fonlarında da görülmüş; sorunun yalnızca iki kurumla sınırlı kalmayıp Hedef, Atlas, A1 Capital, Pardus ve Bulls Portföy’ü de kapsadığı anlaşılmıştır.
TurkeyFinance and Banking
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Article

New Regulation On Age Verification And Child Protection For Social Network Providers

The Regulation on the Provision of Child Specific Segregated Services and Age Verification by Social Network Providers (the “Regulation”) was published in the Official Gazette No. 33396 dated 10 October 2026. The Regulation sets out the rules applicable to domestic and foreign social network providers whose services are accessible from Türkiye, introducing new requirements concerning age verification, child-specific services and parental control mechanisms.
TurkeyMedia, Telecoms, IT, Entertainment
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Article

Assessment Of The Türkiye Emissions Trading System Regulation

The Türkiye Emissions Trading System Regulation (the “Regulation”) was published in the Official Gazette No. 33353 dated August 27, 2026, and entered into force on the same date. Pursuant to the Climate Law No. 7552 (the “Climate Law”), the Regulation sets out the fundamental rules governing the scope of the Türkiye Emissions Trading System (“ETS”), greenhouse gas emissions permits, monitoring, reporting and verification, the allocation of allowances, and the operation of the market.
TurkeyEnvironment
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership
Gen Temizer Erdogan Girgin Attorney Partnership