Protection of personal data as a concept of human rights

The rapid development observed in the information technology sector for the last quarter century has enabled to record and register easily and fast the confidential data, which are subject to privacy, to facilitate the transactions of people. The access of unauthorized persons to these data will lead to the violation of basic rights as these data can only be accessed by authorized persons and disseminated to relevant third persons.The understanding of modern law, which focuses on the protection of basic individual rights, protects basic human rights by means of preventing the misuse of personal data and unlawfully processing of them despite the technological development, which makes it easier to violation of individual rights. Besides, at the present day the existence of the legislation or regulation about the protection of personal data in one country is a precondition for the transborder flows of personal data. Because of that fact, countries make legislation, which sets forth the principles for the protection and transborder flows of personal data.This study covers a conceptual framework and a historical development of the right of protection of personal data, national and international legislation about the subject and lastly the relevant regulations in Turkey. In this study, it is aimed to reveal the features of personal data obtained and processed by the public institutions and organizations, individuals and legal entities while enacting their duties, to reveal the legal status of these real and legal persons and to reveal the scope and limitations of sharing the personal data.