Author: Nil Zeren Özdemir
Introduction
While the scope of Competition Board’s (“Board”) power to conduct on-site inspections has increased with the introduction of Guidelines on Examination of Digital Data during On-site Inspections (“Guidelines”), nowadays the amount of monetary fines imposed on undertakings continue to increase due to deletion of digital data by the undertakings' employees. As a matter of fact the total amount of administrative fines imposed by the Board on undertakings has increased 47 times from 2020 to 2021 on the grounds for hindering or complicating on-site inspections.
As the digitalization improves although the deleted data can be recovered by forensic information devices or access to the data by other means is possible, it is observed in various Board decisions that even the mere deletion of data contained in a digital media, including the private mobile devices of the employees’, is considered to be hindering or complicating the on-site inspection.
Notwithstanding that the examination of personal mobile devices is seen as an outcome of the digitalization by the Board, the decision of Ankara II. Administrative Court is significant in terms of setting the limits to the Board's power to conduct on-site inspections and substantiating the action for hindering on-site inspections.
