The use of the Internet, which is increasing in our country and in the world, has brought many facilities in its train, it also has become more important in terms of the protection of personal data.

At present, when 82.4% of individuals using the Internet are also social media users, every post made, every data entered on the internet environment might be used by ill-intentioned people who want to reach you and your information. Especially, social networks are the shortest route for ill-intentioned people to access your information. It is essential that need to think in detail what kind of consequences and risks your sharing may cause before you share anything.

Dramatic results have been achieved in the site study conducted within the European Union on the demography of use of the Internet and the protection of personal data. In the study in question, it was observed that a great majority of people clearly shared their names (79%) and pictures (51%) and of which country they are citizens (47%) on social networks. 62% of them state that they share their personal data at the lowest level in order to protect themselves, 10% of the participants have stated that they do not share information on their identity, 50% of them have stated that they do not share their social information and 90% of them have stated that they do not share their sensitive information. 70% of the participants have stated that they are worried about how the personal data they share will be used and think that they can only have a limited say over the use of their personal data, 74% of them demanded that their consent should be taken for the collection and processing of their personal data while using the internet, 55% of them have stated that they are worried that their personal data on social networks might be used without their consent. 43% them have stated that they are concerned that companies may share their personal data without their permission.

The participants of the survey were asked if they had read the confidentiality agreements on the internet or not and 58% of them declared that they had done so. 34% of them stated that they had read and understood it, 24% of them said that they had read, but could not understand it. And those who had not read the confidentiality agreements listed their reasons for not reading as follows:

• The thought that it is enough for the relevant website to even have a privacy policy (41%)

• The belief that laws will protect them no matter what situation is (27%)

• The belief that the relevant website cannot protect itself under any circumstances (24%)

• Those who do not have any remarks (15%)

Even a game that you download to your smartphone and can't wait to play can transfer the contacts in your contact list to its database while you play that game, after receiving your consent with a simple confirmation method with a small pop-up, and then share them with companies you do not know what kind of activities they are dealing in. In this context, while states and relevant industry partners have been trying, for a long time, to produce technical solutions that will increase the control of users regarding data sharing, there are some points that internet users should also pay attention to:

For this;

1. We recommend that you enable the "do not track" option of your internet web browser. You can find more detailed information on the subject in the web security section.

2. Read the usage policy and confidentiality agreements of the web pages with which you want to operate. Moreover, get information about the web page from the contact and about us sections of the relevant web page.

3. Analyze well what kind of information the applications you download from mobile platforms collect from you. If necessary, do not download applications, to your phone, that you will not use very often.

4. Pay attention to what mobile applications you download are synchronized with. Disable information that you do not want to be synchronized. We recommend you to review your accounts, application management, location services and security your phone settings for this.

5. Review your privacy and security settings again on social networks. We recommend you to read the security section on social networks for this. Furthermore, Rik Ferguson, Vice President of Security Research Department, in Trend Micro, lists 5 things, to which users should pay attention on Facebook, as follows:

5. Things to which you should pay attention on Facebook

1. If you do not control the privacy settings of the message you post on a friend's wall, it is automatically set that "friends of your friend" can see your message.

2. It is not enough to set the privacy settings so as to prevent your posts from being seen by people you do not want. If any Facebook user is tagged under what you posted, that person can see all of your conversations and posts.

3. When you post a share on a public event or page, you cannot change the privacy settings of that post. You can only remove that post from your profile.

4. When you post a share with privacy settings set as “Friend of my friends” on your friend's wall, the people, you don't want, will see that post as well. Because they are your friends.

5. Whether your posts public or only friends of your friends can see it or not, do not forget that many people you do not know can see you and those people, you removed from friendships, can also follow you. Therefore, always pay attention to your posts.

What Are Your Rights According to The Law on Protection of Personal Data?

As the owners of personal data, “The Law on Protection of Personal Data”, with no. 6698, of the Constitution has now become legalized. Some of the rights we have according to this Law are as follows:

• To learn whether your personal data is being processed.

• If your personal data has been processed, to request information about it.

• To learn the purpose of processing your personal data, and whether they are used appropriately for their purpose or not.

• To request the deletion or destruction of your personal data.

• To make objections to the emergence of a result, against the person himself, on account of analyzing the processed data exclusively through automated systems.

• In the event that you suffer any loss due to the fact that your personal data is unlawfully processed, you have the right to demand compensation for the related damage.

• You can learn the full text of the law and your other rights here.