The Turkish parliament adopted the "E-Commerce Law" on October 24. The Law will enter into force following the President's approval and its publication in the Official Gazette. Effective date of the Law is expected to be 6 months after its publication pursuant to the draft law.

The E-Commerce Law regulates the commercial massages. According to the newly adopted Law, commercial messages can be sent to a consumer electronically only if the consumer has given either electronically or in writing prior approval. The Law bans all sorts of commercial messages to consumers, including e-mail, text messaging (SMS), fax, and robocalls without their prior approval. Sending commercial messages is permitted in the event consumers are provided an easy and free-of-charge option to opt-out until the Law is effective. Nevertheless, new Law's opt-in system will only apply to customer relations, not to B2B relationships. Therefore, such commercial messages can be sent to business accounts without their prior approval.

Originally published April 5th, 2015

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