Article 11 of the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK, Law No. 6698) gives you concrete, usable rights against every company that processes your data. The problem is rarely a gap in the law - it is not knowing how to use those rights.
What rights Article 11 gives you
- Learn whether your data is being processed
- Request information if it has been processed
- Learn the purpose of the processing and whether it is used in line with that purpose
- Know the third parties your data is transferred to, in Türkiye or abroad
- Ask for correction if the data is incomplete or inaccurate
- Ask for your data to be erased or destroyed once the conditions set out in KVKK are met
- Object to a result against you that comes from analysis by automated systems
How to send the request
The request goes to the company's data controller in writing (or through any other channel named in the Communiqué on Application Procedures to the Data Controller). You need to give the minimum information that verifies your identity and describe your request clearly - not "delete all my data", but which data, processed for what purpose, and why you want it erased.
- The company must conclude your request within 30 days at the latest
- The request is free of charge, except for steps that carry a separate cost
- A refusal must be communicated in writing, with reasons
The law gives you the right; the part that usually gets forgotten is sending the application to the right address, with the right content.
What if there is no reply
If no reply arrives within 30 days or your request is refused, you have the right to complain to the Personal Data Protection Board. That step looks simple on paper, but following it up takes time - you have to keep a record of which company you wrote to, when, and what answer you got.
On MyDefense, KVKK Article 11 requests are sent as real emails from a free account, the history and status of each request is recorded, and an automatic reminder email goes out if no reply arrives within 30 days. This article is not legal advice; for a concrete dispute we recommend consulting a lawyer.