DPA Principle Decision: Separation Of Privacy Notices And Explicit Consent Texts

The Turkish Data Protection Authority (the "DPA") has clarified its approach to a commonly encountered issue in practice with its Principle Decision titled "Requirement to Prepare Explicit Consent and Privacy Notice Texts Separately" (the "Principle Decision"), published in the Official Gazette dated 24 March 2026 and numbered 33203.

While emphasizing that the obligation to provide a privacy notice and the process of obtaining explicit consent have distinct legal natures and should therefore be treated separately, the Principle Decision does not introduce a fundamental change; rather, it sets out a framework to address uncertainties in practice.

Key Takeaways from the Principle Decision:

• Privacy notices and explicit consent texts must be prepared as separate documents under distinct headings, and they should be placed in separate sections even if they are presented within the same medium;