Team size: About 150

What are the most significant cases or transactions that your legal team has recently been involved in?

The responsibility areas of Turkcell’s legal and regulation function encompass all aspects of legal monitoring, contractual relations with third parties, litigation procedures, regulatory compliance, investigations, and contribution to the public policy and regulatory framework in the industry. Additionally, it includes maintaining sustainable relations with public authorities and NGOs. As a company listed on Borsa İstanbul and the New York Stock Exchange, Turkcell operates in accordance with various capital market regulations.

The ongoing digital disruption demands that legal departments move beyond traditional roles of providing advice and ensuring compliance. In response, legal departments face increasingly complex and dynamic goals, requiring in-house counsels to achieve more with fewer resources. To address this, we established a dedicated digital transformation team within Turkcell’s legal and regulation function over five years ago.

The team analyses workflows to identify inefficiencies such as repetitive tasks, time-consuming activities, and communication gaps with business units and develops cost-effective solutions to improve efficiency, by matching legal needs with IT capabilities. One of our notable achievements is the development of a Contract Risk-Scoring System, which enhances efficiency and mitigates risks. Instead of manual and subjective evaluations, this system assesses contracts based on predefined rules and assigns a risk score to clauses and the entire contract, enabling consistent decision-making. Thanks to these efforts, we received recognition for our Contract Risk-Scoring System, winning awards.

Aiming to influence and contribute to the formation of international regulations and principles regarding new technologies, we joined initiatives in the artificial intelligence working groups at GSMA, ITU, and UNICEF. In 2020, we published the “Turkcell Artificial Intelligence Principles”, committing to the ethical and responsible use of the technologies we develop and use in our operations, making us the first company in Türkiye to take such a step.

Focusing on new technologies and digital solutions is revolutionising our legal and regulation function by enhancing efficiency, contributing directly to business objectives and keeping us ahead in the digital age.

What strategic priorities are guiding you and your team in 2024?

5G, Artificial Intelligence, and Non-Terrestrial Network technologies are among our strategic priorities as a company, in 2024. We emphasise ecosystem partnerships for utilising new technologies effectively, along with in-house development and partnerships to support local production. Accordingly, as the legal and regulation function, our goal is to contribute to creating a conducive legal and regulatory environment for these technologies in our country.

We actively participate in shaping both international and local AI legislative initiatives, recognising this as a relatively new area for regulators. Our focus lies in establishing regulatory frameworks and practices aligned with international standards to ensure the ethical and responsible use of AI. Furthermore, we advocate for 5G spectrum allocation under conditions most suitable for our country and industry. Additionally, as we expand collaborations to offer NTN services via satellite, particularly in areas with no mobile coverage, we engage in legislative initiatives for Low Earth Orbit satellites across various platforms. Our aim is to foster a regulatory environment that supports fair collaborations and competition in this field, both locally and globally.

Do you have a cause, business-related or otherwise, that you are passionate about?

As technology rapidly transforms our communities and every aspect of our lives in the digital age, I am eager to contribute to the design of regulations and legal frameworks that promote new technologies while prioritising the human aspect. It is crucial to eliminate obstacles hindering technological development while maintaining a focus on human well-being.

In regulating new technologies and establishing legal frameworks, a human-centred perspective is essential for safeguarding human rights, privacy, security, and ethical values. Understanding how technology impacts human life is paramount, and we must address the needs and concerns of users in the design of regulations and legal frameworks.