Privacy notice

This text has been prepared, in accordance with Article 10 of the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK) and the Communiqué on the Procedures and Principles to be Followed in Fulfilling the Obligation to Inform, to inform people who get in touch through this website about the processing of their personal data.

1. Data controller

Your personal data is processed by Merve Tekeş Akkoç, Attorney at Law, registered with the Ankara Bar Association, as the data controller.

• Address: Eti Mah. Toros Sk. No: 15/3 Çankaya/Ankara
• Phone: +90 505 687 04 32
• Email: av.mervetekes@gmail.com

2. Personal data processed

If you fill in the contact form, the following data is processed:

• Identity: first name and surname
• Contact: telephone number and email address (email is optional)
• Request: the subject you select (optional) and the text of your message
• Transaction security: the record and date of your confirmation that you have read this notice, and an irreversible hash of your IP address. Raw IP addresses are not stored in form records.

If you reach us by telephone, WhatsApp or email, the information you share of your own accord through those channels is processed for the same purposes.

When you visit the site, technical records (server logs) such as IP address, browser information, the page visited and the time of the visit may be created automatically on the hosting provider’s servers.

In your first contact, please do not write special categories of personal data (e.g. health information, criminal convictions), ID numbers, or bank or password details in your message.

3. Purposes of processing

• Receiving and assessing your request and getting back to you
• Planning the day and time of a meeting
• Protecting the contact form against spam and abuse, and ensuring the security of the site
• Fulfilling legal obligations and protecting rights in the event of possible disputes

4. Legal grounds

Your personal data is processed on the following legal grounds under Article 5, paragraph 2 of the KVKK:

• It is directly related to the establishment or performance of a contract (Art. 5/2-c): getting back to your request and planning the meeting
• It is necessary for the data controller to fulfil a legal obligation (Art. 5/2-ç)
• It is necessary for the establishment, exercise or protection of a right (Art. 5/2-e)
• It is necessary for the legitimate interests of the data controller, provided that this does not harm your fundamental rights and freedoms (Art. 5/2-f): security of the form and the site, server logs

5. Method of collection

Your personal data is collected electronically and directly from you, through the contact form on the website, email, telephone and WhatsApp. Server logs are created by automatic means during your visit to the site.

6. Transfer of data

Your personal data is not shared with third parties for marketing or commercial purposes. It may be transferred only for the purposes above and to the extent necessary, to the following recipients:

• Hosting provider (Hostinger): for keeping the site and contact form records on the server and sending form notification emails. The servers are in Germany (Frankfurt), with backups in France.
• Email service provider (Google): messages you send through the contact form are forwarded as a notification to the data controller’s email address (Gmail); if you write by email, your message also reaches this address. These messages are stored on Google’s servers.
• Competent public authorities and judicial bodies: where there is a legal obligation or upon request.

Because the Hostinger and Google servers are located abroad, these transfers constitute transfers abroad and are carried out in accordance with the conditions set out in Article 9 of the KVKK.

If you click the WhatsApp link on the site, or open the map on the Contact page with the “Show map” button, a direct connection is made with the relevant service (WhatsApp/Meta, Google). Transactions carried out in these services are subject to the privacy policies of the companies concerned. The map is not loaded unless the button is pressed.

7. Retention period

Messages received through the contact form are kept on the server for at most 1 year from the date they are received and are deleted at the end of that period. Records deleted from the hosting provider’s automatic backups may remain for a further period during the backup cycle. Copies that reach the email inbox as notifications, and email and WhatsApp correspondence, are kept for as long as necessary for the purpose of the request.

If an attorney–client relationship is established following a meeting, information relating to that relationship is kept for the periods prescribed in the legislation on attorneyship and other relevant laws.

8. Security of data

Appropriate technical and administrative measures are taken to prevent unlawful processing of and access to your personal data and to ensure its safekeeping. The connection to the site is encrypted (HTTPS), form records are kept in a folder not directly accessible from the internet, and IP addresses are stored in hashed form. Only the data controller has access to the records. As an attorney, the data controller is subject to the duty of confidentiality under Article 36 of the Attorneyship Law.

9. Your rights

Under Article 11 of the KVKK, you can exercise the following rights by applying to the data controller:

• To learn whether your personal data is processed
• To request information if it has been processed
• To learn the purpose of processing and whether it is used in accordance with that purpose
• To know the third parties to whom it is transferred, in Türkiye or abroad
• To request correction if it is incomplete or inaccurate
• To request deletion or destruction within the framework of the conditions in Article 7 of the KVKK
• To request that correction, deletion or destruction be notified to the third parties to whom the data has been transferred
• To object to the emergence of a result against you through analysis of the processed data exclusively by automated systems
• To claim compensation for damage if you suffer harm due to unlawful processing

10. Method of application

In accordance with the Communiqué on the Procedures and Principles of Application to the Data Controller, you can submit your requests by a signed petition containing information identifying you and explaining your request, delivered by hand to Eti Mah. Toros Sk. No: 15/3 Çankaya/Ankara, sent through a notary, or by other methods determined by the Personal Data Protection Board.

Your application is concluded free of charge, depending on the nature of the request, within thirty days at the latest. If the process requires an additional cost, a fee may be charged according to the tariff set by the Board.

If your application is rejected, you find the reply insufficient, or no reply is given in time, you can file a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Board under Article 14 of the KVKK.