Commenting on the 'Data Protection Day', which is celebrated in Turkey on January 2016 every year since 28, after Europe and America, Lawyer Görkem Gökçe said that digitalization, which accelerates in all areas of life, brings both personal and corporate data to new dangers. told. Gökçe said, “Personal data is a treasure. It is valuable information that can be turned into money. We should carefully use data that will leave a digital trace. We must not scatter our information on every platform that comes our way," he said.
Providing information on data security and privacy in the age of technology, Gökçe emphasized that Data Protection Day is important in terms of raising awareness about prioritizing data security. Pointing out that individuals and companies should protect their data under all circumstances, Gökçe said, “Any information pertaining to a person is data. With the development of digitalization, the definition of data is also expanding. Personal data is a treasure. It is valuable information that can be turned into money. If you collect the data and turn it into a pool when meaningful results emerge, this information becomes very valuable. Thus, companies can earn profits. The places we visit on social media, our likes, comments, and every visual we spend time with leave a trace. These are processed by algorithms as data. If we think in terms of advertising, these processed data turn into money.”
Stating that the KVKK law is sufficient and the practices are improving day by day, Gökçe said, “There are also legal decisions. We are still behind, but awareness is increasing. Our awareness of protecting our personal data is weak. Efforts are also being made to raise awareness on this issue. There are still millions who do not know about KVKK. Awareness is insufficient and legal regulations are not bad. Many platforms have emerged with digitalization. Thus, unlimited data sharing emerged. The need for legal regulations to protect data is also increasing. What people need to do is to use the data that will leave a digital trace carefully. We should not reveal our information on every platform that comes our way. After that, we should follow and read the privacy rules of these platforms. In the digitalizing world, the volume of data is increasing day by day. The total amount of data created worldwide in 2022 alone is estimated to be 97 zettabytes. According to Forbes, the total volume of data captured, copied and consumed increased by almost 2010 percent between 2020 and 5. Even on WhatsApp alone, users exchange more than 65 billion messages every day. According to the 2020 data of the US-based information technology company IBM, each internet user creates 1,7 megabytes per second. Due to this rapid increase in the total amount of data globally, it is estimated that global data creation will grow to more than 180 zettabytes in a few years. On the other hand, this increase in the appetite of cybercriminals also triggers data breaches.”
“Data security literacy in society is not at the desired level”
The main reason behind the increase in data breaches and leaks is the fact that security is secondary both on the individual and corporate sides. Moreover, Gökçe said that a significant part of the society still has no literacy on data security and said, “The Turkey Cyber Security Awareness Survey carried out by the cyber security company Berqnet in 2021 reveals concrete data on this issue. According to the research, nearly 50 percent of the participants are unaware of the KVKK, also known as the Law on the Protection of Personal Data, and the Law No. 5651. The need for a regulation on data protection has actually existed for many years. As a result of the developments in communication technologies and the blurring of country borders, the need for protection in the transfer of personal data between countries dates back to the 1970s. The fact that this situation has become a necessity rather than a necessity is the result of rapid digitalization in recent years. 2007 years after the Council of Europe declared January 28 as the European Data Protection Day in 9, with the approval of the Convention No. 2016 in 108 and the adoption of the Personal Data Protection Law, Data Protection Day began to be celebrated in Turkey as well.
“While everyone is after our data, what we need to do is to protect our data”
Indicating that the acceptance of January 28 as the Data Protection Day in Turkey is actually the beginning of a new era for the security of personal data, Gökçe stated that the increase in awareness on this issue will be achieved with the participation of all individuals and institutions of the society.
Emphasizing that people should be conscious about protecting their data, Gökçe said, “Today, we all scatter our personal data in the online world without caring while downloading an application or shopping. This situation has become so normalized that we have come to question whether a platform that does not request our personal data is reliable or not. When it comes to sharing our opinion, many individuals and institutions that oppose the processing of their personal data are unfortunately not even aware of the rights they have over their own data with the KVKK. Data is today the most important treasure of the new world. And let's make sure everyone is after our data. What we need to do here is, first of all, to protect our data. In order to do this, there are simple but important points that we need to pay attention to. Such as not neglecting our privacy and security settings in the online world, being careful when sharing our data, and being aware of our rights over our data. Institutions, on the other hand, must first complete the KVKK compliance process and appoint data controllers. Never neglecting cyber security while investing in technology is another critical issue here. In addition, companies should pay attention to the data collection methods of the third-party companies they work with and are responsible for, while being transparent to both their customers and employees about data management.
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