Commercial Electronic Communication Permissions
The fundamental obligations of service providers and intermediary service providers engaged in e-commerce activities, such as obtaining consumer consent for order, contract, and notification processes, as well as for commercial communication, were regulated by Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce, which came into effect on 01/05/2015. The “Regulation on Commercial Communication and Commercial Electronic Messages,” also known as the permission-based marketing regulation, was issued to implement this law and came into effect on 15/07/2015. This regulation defines the procedures and principles for sending commercial messages, including SMS, emails, and phone calls, for commercial purposes. The IYS system was regulated by an amendment made on 04/01/2020. According to Article 6 of the law, it is mandatory to obtain prior consent from the recipient before sending commercial electronic communications. Commercial electronic messages cannot be sent to users without obtaining their consent.
Service providers send communications containing promotions, campaigns, discounts, gifts, or other content to the recipients’ electronic contact addresses in order to market goods and services, promote their business, or increase brand recognition through congratulatory or well-wishing messages. Consent from the recipient is required for sending these communications. The consent form is provided to the user through the Commercial Electronic Communication Consent Form. Without obtaining Commercial Electronic Communication Consent, unauthorized message sending is prohibited. In such cases, users can file a complaint against the service provider through the “Ministry of Commerce’s Commercial Electronic Communication Complaint System” on the e-Government portal or in writing at their local Provincial Directorate of Commerce. The right to complain must be used within three months from the date the commercial electronic message was sent. As of 2020, administrative fines ranging from 1,899 TL to 9,515 TL are imposed on service providers who send unauthorized messages.