Data controller concept under Turkish Law

The main purpose of data protection law is to prevent unlawful recording of data and to ensure that all transactions performed on these data comply with the law. In 1950s, an awareness began to develop in Europe regarding the importance of personal data and its protection and this awareness reached its peak with the entry into force of the "General Data Protection Regulation" ("GDPR") in 2016. This Regulation had major repercussions in today's world and giant technology companies have faced investigations initiated by data protection authorities. Following the global developments in the field of data protection, the Law on the Protection of Personal Data numbered 6698 entered into force in Turkey in April 7, 2016. As of April 7, 2018, with the increasing practices of the Turkish data protection authority, data controllers have begun to carry out projects to provide compliance with their liabilities under the Law on the Protection of Personal Data and the compliance process has been initiated, albeit late. In this respect, data controllers and processors have taken action to fulfill their obligations with the compulsivity of the legal and criminal liabilities issued under the the Law on the Protection of Personal Data numbered 6698. In the light of this, this thesis is composed of two parts. In the first part, "the concept of personal data, the right to protection of personal data, the function of protection of personal data" and "normative basis of the right to protection of personal data" are examined. In the second part, "the data controller concept under Turkish law", which is also the title of this thesis, is evaluated in all aspects.