AI Regulation in Türkiye and the EU in 2026: A Compliance Guide for Companies

2026 marks a turning point in AI legislation. The EU AI Act became broadly applicable on 2 August 2026; companies in Türkiye must assess AI use alongside the KVKK, consumer law, advertising rules, intellectual property and sector-specific regulations.

AI compliance means mapping the systems, data, risks and company roles in the value chain, rather than drafting a single AI policy.

What Legal Areas Are Important in Artificial Intelligence Use in Turkey?

Companies using AI should consider more than one area of law.

Depending on the use case, relevant areas may include:

KVKK,
consumer law,
advertising rules,
intellectual property,
labor law,
Sectoral regulations

These rules may apply.

AI systems processing personal data

If the AI system uses personal data, the legal basis of data processing activity must be evaluated first.

For example:

customer support conversations,
employee data,
CRM records,
profiling,
Audio and image data

If such data is sent to an AI service, the data flow must also be recorded in the inventory.

AI services abroad

Sending personal data to an AI API may constitute an international data transfer.

In this case, the current Article 9 of the KVKK and the appropriate transfer mechanisms must also be evaluated.

When did the EU AI Act start applying?

The AI Act entered into force on 1 August 2024 with a phased application timetable.

Prohibited practices and AI literacy obligations: 2 February 2025,
GPAI governance and specific obligations: 2 August 2025,
Most of the AI Act and Article 50 transparency obligations: 2 August 2026.

Current timetable for high-risk systems

According to the current EU regulatory calendar, provisions regarding certain Annex III high risk uses shall apply from 2 December 2027; and provisions regarding Annex I high risk systems embedded in regulated products shall apply from 2 August 2028.

AI literacy

Ensuring adequate AI literacy among people working with AI systems is an important AI Act obligation.

This is not just technical training.

Employees must understand:

The boundaries of AI,
risk of hallucination,
risk of sharing personal data,
situations where human control is required

They need to understand these points.

Article 50 Transparency Obligations

As of August 2, 2026, Article 50 introduced new transparency obligations in specific AI usage scenarios.

Human–AI interaction

In certain situations, the person should be clearly informed that he interacts with an AI system.

Synthetic Content

Providers must mark certain AI-generated or manipulated content in a machine-detectable format.

Deepfakes

Using content classified as a deepfake may also create transparency obligations for the deployer.

How to prepare an AI inventory

Start by listing every AI system the company uses.

System	Purpose	Data	Role	Risk
AI customer assistant	Support	Customer data	Deployer	Medium/high risk review
Content production tool	Marketing	Limited data	Deployer	Transparency/IP

Distinguishing providers from deployers

A company using an existing AI tool has different obligations from a company developing and marketing its own AI system.

Therefore, role analysis is one of the first steps in AI Act compliance.

Human-in-the-loop

The AI result should not be automatically converted to final decision.

Human oversight may be necessary in particular for:

employee evaluation,
The decision affecting customer rights,
legal assessment,
transactions with significant financial consequences

These may require human review.

AI supplier due diligence

When selecting an AI provider, examine:

where data is processed,
whether customer data is used to train models,
how long logs and data are retained,
which security controls are in place,
the provider’s role under the AI Act

These questions must be assessed.

2026 AI Compliance Checklist

Has an AI inventory been created?
Has the role of Provider/deployer been identified?
Have personal data streams been examined?
Has data transfer abroad been checked?
Is AI literacy training available?
Have Article 50 transparency obligations been assessed?
Have human review points been identified?
Do AI suppliers undergo due diligence?

The B10 Approach

B10 Digital Agency treats AI compliance as an integrated system of AI inventories, data flows, APIs, access, human oversight and technical controls, rather than simply a legal document.

Official reference framework

This guide was updated on the basis of the European Commission's current AI Act implementation calendar and Article 50 transparency guide, as well as personal data protection regulations in Turkey.

Conclusion

In 2026, AI compliance is no longer a future project. Companies must concretely map the AI systems they use, the data they process and the legal and technical obligations that apply.

This content is for general information only.