Competition Law | Articles
Administrative Court Decided to Stay the Execution of Turkish Competition Authority’s Decision of Administrative Monetary Fine for Hindrance of On-site Inspection (Sahibinden.com)
As is well known, the Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) is authorized to examine all data and documents on electronic platforms and information systems during the on-site inspections pursuant to the amendment dated 16.06.2020 on Article 15 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Competition Law”). Subsequently, the TCA published the Guidelines on the Examination of Digital Data during On-Site Inspections on 09.10.2020. In line with the relevant changes in legislation, the scope of on-site inspections conducted by the TCA’s case handlers has reached another level. The TCA has started to inspect mobile devices, including personal devices (mobile phones, tablets, etc.) if they contain digital data belonging to the undertaking. In this context, it is observed through the published decisions that the TCA recently adopted a strict approach with regard to on-site inspection processes. In case any data is deleted during the on-site inspection, the TCA decided to impose administrative monetary fines by stating that these practices cause hindrance or complication to the on-site inspection regardless of whether the relevant data relates to personal use.
