THE PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA IN THE DIGITAL ERA

Course Objectives: This course aims to crystalize the essential rules and precautions on the collection, processing, retention and transfer of personal data in international and national law. The main goal is the increase of the students’ level of consciousness and control over their own data in the digital environment. By virtue of the technological developments, it is vital that the students can have knowledge about basic solutions to common problems related with personal data in accordance with recent legal developments in the EU and Turkish law. During the course, it will be also argued the up-to-date answers of EU and Turkish law to the questions such as, what will be happened to our data that we were forced to give during the online purchase of an asset or mobile application, or what is going to occur concerning the social media account after the owner’s death.

Course Content: The course will have various topics on the issue of the protection of personal data. The regulations and cases on current issues will be established in a systematic and basic conceptual framework. The course content will consist of the following topics:

• The definition and sphere of personal data
• The notion of Cookies and targeted data mining for advertising
• The consent to the processing of personal data
• The processing of personal data in several sectors (ex. Telecommunication, legal services, banking etc.)
• The rights of owner against illegal process of data
• The right of be forgotten – The post-mortem protection of personal data and digital inheritance
• The economic value of personal data – The notion of deepfakes and its pros & cons
• The administrative precautions for the protection of personal data