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In order to reduce COVID-19 pandemic’s adverse effects, some measures have been taken regarding social and economic life in Turkey. With the Law on Establishing Digital Mediums Committee and Amending Several Acts, which has been published in the Official Gazette dated July 28, 2020, (“Law”) Digital Mediums Committee is established and various laws are amended including extension of employer’s termination restriction and short time working allowance periods.

Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (“TITCK”) has announced on July 15, 2020 that submission deadline for ongoing temporary biocide license applications are extended to prevent any hardship in sector.

On July 10, 2020 Turkish Personal Data Protection Board (“Board”) published summary of its decision numbered 2020/471 and dated June 23, 2020 (“Decision No. 2020/471”) stating that foreign companies who have representative offices in Turkey and proceed its data processing activities outside of Turkey may be subject to the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 (“Law No. 6698”) and the obligation to register in the Data Controllers Registry Information System (“VERBIS”).

Until now, as per the United States-Hong Kong Policy Act of 1992 (“the Policy Act”); Hong Kong was subject to … Read more

Turkish Personal Data Protection Board (“Board”) published an announcement on 26 June 2020, regarding several points to be taken into consideration when fulfilling the obligation to inform (“Announcement”) stating that data controllers in Turkey do not seem to be transparent on their processing activities.

Turkish Medicines and Medical Devices Agency (“TITCK”) has recently announced that documents by means of conformity certificates issued by both local and foreign institutions especially during COVID-19 pandemic times are void pursuant to regulations concerning medical devices in Turkey. TITCK adds that, documents are mostly issued for products such as non-sterile medical masks and aprons having the titles of ‘Certificate of Compliance’, ‘Attestation of Compliance’, ‘Certificate of Conformity’, ‘Certificate of Notification’, ‘Certificate of Registration’, ‘Documentation Review’ or similar.

As per the Presidential Decree No.2706 published in the Official Gazette No. 31171 dated June 30, 2020, a new amendment on Unemployment Insurance Law numbered 4447 came into force regarding short time working.

urkish Personal Data Protection Board (“Board”) extended deadlines set out for the registration to the Data Controllers Registry Information System (“VERBIS”) on June 23, 2020 with its decision numbered 2020/482. In its announcement the Board stated the fact that many workplaces are closed, and employers adopted remotely working styles due to COVID-19 outbreak required such extension.

SpaceX has announced the company's mega-project called Starlink, which will consist of thousands of mass-produced satellites in low Earth orbit (LEO) to provide satellite internet access, is ready for beta testers. 540 Starlink satellites are already in orbit and the company hopes that these satellites will form part of a 12,000 constellation by the year 2027. The project's main aim is to deliver accessible, cheaper, and more reliable high-speed broadband internet all over the world.

Court of Justice of European Union (“the Court” or “CJEU”) published a press release numbered 68/20 regarding the case LE v. Transportes Aéreos Portugueses SA (“TAP”) on June 11, 2020. CJEU, touches many companies operating in global aviation industry. Overall, the Court responses the query whether an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ would constitute an exemption for an air-carrier to pay compensation for the cancellation or long delay of a subsequent flight.

On June 10, 2020, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (“EASA”) announced the first type certification worldwide, a fully electric aircraft called “Velis Electro” designed by a Slovenian company, Pipistrel d.o.o. The certification of Velis Electro as an emission-free aircraft is regarded as the first concrete response to the query that aviation would ever be less polluting.