Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures and reacts as he arrives on stage to deliver a speech following a cabinet meeting, in Ankara, on June 9, 2020. (ADEM ALTAN / AFP)

ISTANBUL - Turkey’s parliament on Tuesday passed a law that includes giving wider powers to the Competition Authority, a change criticized by opposition parties for not providing measures to protect personal data and trade secrets.

According to an explanation of the law, the adjustment to the competition law clarifies the scope of the inspection authority, which is “vital for revealing cartels”

According to a section of the law on adjustments to the competition law, the Competition Authority is allowed to obtain copies or physical examples of books, data and documents from institutions during an inspection.

Members of parliament opposed to the change said more guarantees were needed regarding both personal data and trade secrets while giving such “extensive authority” to the Competition Authority.

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According to an explanation of the law, the adjustment clarifies the scope of the inspection authority, which is “vital for revealing cartels”.

The change, introduced by President Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party, also aims to clarify a self-evaluation method and introduce a new test to evaluate effective competition, among other measures.

The AKP says the change aims to bring the competition law up to European Union standards.