Grounds of justification in processing personal data for advertising purposes

The primary reason for legal arrangements for the protection of personal data is that governments gather personal data into central databases and interfere in the private lives of individuals. Personal data has been intensively used by commercial enterprises as a result of developing internet technologies. One of the objectives of commercial enterprises in using personal data is to provide consumers with tailored advertising by observing their behavior. A new business model has emerged based on the processing of personal data thanks to the personalized ad delivery application. Commercial enterprises using this business model demand the personal data of their users, not a specific fee for the services they offer. Then, these companies use the personal data which they obtain to make meaningful data and use them for advertising purposes. The processing of personal data for advertising purposes has brought many debates in the field of data protection law. In this study, the conditions of “consent in processing personal data for advertising purposes” which refers to one of the Grounds of Justification that is controversial in the doctrine and judicial decisions, “necessity for the performance of a contract” and “necessity for the purposes of the legitimate interests of the controller” were examined by comparing Turkish and European Union law. As a result, it is understood that while the “consent” requirement in Turkish law plays an important role in the processing of personal data for advertising purposes, “necessity for the purposes of the legitimate interests of the controller” which is one of the Grounds of Justification is also of great importance in European Union law