Author: Ecem Süsoy Uygun
Introduction
The rules of e-commerce, which grow and develop with the digitalizing world, are changing. E-commerce has become the driving force of the digital economy. However, considering the growth rate of e-commerce and the transformation it has undergone in a short time, it is obvious that some protective and preventive legal mechanisms are needed. With this goal in mind, Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce (“E-commerce Law”) was amended and the Law Amending the Law on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce (“Amendment Law”) was published in the Official Gazette dated 07.07.2022 and numbered 31889. It is expected that the relevant provisions of the Amendment Law will enter into force beginning on 01.01.2023 and the compliance process to the relevant amendments will be completed in accordance with the periods stipulated in the Amendment Law.
Newly Introduced Concepts and Terms
One of the most important changes to the E-commerce Law are the new concepts and terms that have been added to it. These include "electronic commerce intermediary service provider," "electronic commerce service provider," "electronic commerce environment," "electronic commerce marketplace," "Electronic Trade Information System (“ETBIS”)", "net transaction volume" and "economic integrity." Some of the new concepts introduced in the e-commerce legislation are explained below:
- E-commerce intermediary service provider: An intermediary service provider that enables the conclusion of contracts, or places orders for the supply of goods or services of other e-commerce service providers, regardless of whether they sell in the e-commerce marketplace.
- E-commerce service provider: A service provider that makes a contract or takes orders for the supply of its own goods or services, either in the e-commerce marketplace or in its own e-commerce environment.
- The concept of economic integrity, which is familiar from competition law terminology, is also comprehensively defined in the Amendment Law. This is due to the fact that the Amendment Law creates comprehensive obligations for e-commerce intermediary service providers and it is important to determine which persons are responsible for them. According to the Amendment Law, economic integrity covers both horizontal and vertical control relations, real or legal persons, and commercial companies and enterprises connected with these persons.
