Introduction

Law No. 7416, adopted by the Grand National Assembly on 1 July 2022 and published in the Official Gazette (No. 31889) dated 7 July 2022, essentially rewrote Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce. The principal rationale of the bill—to prevent disproportionate market concentration by large-scale marketplaces and to strengthen consumer protection—was the outcome of discussions spanning more than five years. Today, after sufficient time has elapsed since the law's entry into force, the regime's impact on marketplace operators can now be read in concrete terms.

In this article, we address the principal obligation clusters introduced by Law No. 7416, the initial practical balance sheet, and the matters that marketplace operators and branded sellers must monitor from both perspectives.

What Did the Law Change?

Law No. 7416 added a series of new concepts and institutions to Law No. 6563.

New actor typology

The law defines actors in the e-commerce ecosystem across four layers:

Electronic commerce service provider (ETHS): Natural or legal persons conducting the supply of goods or services in their own electronic commerce environment (traditional brand e-commerce website).
Electronic commerce intermediary service provider (ETAHS): A provider of an electronic commerce environment in which offerings from other ETHS are aggregated (marketplace operator).
Electronic commerce marketplace: An environment in which multiple ETHS supply goods or services.
Net transaction value: The aggregate of all orders—the law's prescribed thresholds are calculated on the basis of this figure.

Tiered obligations linked to net transaction value

Law No. 7416, as one of its most significant innovations, subjects marketplaces to different obligation packages according to their size:

'Medium-scale' obligations for ETAHS with net transaction value of TL 10 billion or above or transaction count exceeding 100,000,
'Large-scale' obligations for ETAHS with net transaction value of TL 30 billion or above and high transaction count,
'Very large-scale' obligations for ETAHS with net transaction value of TL 60 billion or above and significantly higher transaction count.

These thresholds are updated annually according to the revaluation rate.

Mandatory licensing

ETAHS that exceed a certain threshold (net transaction value of TL 10 billion and transaction count of 100,000) are required to obtain an e-commerce license from the Ministry of Commerce. The license is subject to a fee at both application and renewal stages; the license fee is proportional to net transaction value and is updated annually. For companies below the licensing threshold, no licensing obligation arises.

Advertising and discount expenditure limits

The law prescribes upper limits for large-scale ETAHS in respect of advertising and discount activities conducted within their own marketplaces, calculated as a proportion of net transaction value. Exceeding this limit is subject to administrative sanctions.

Unfair commercial practice prohibitions and intermediary-seller relationship

The law prohibits certain conduct by large-scale ETAHS towards ETHS as unfair commercial practice. Examples include:

Using seller-owned data in a manner creating competitive disadvantage,
Imposing unfair contractual modifications on the seller,
Unjustified discrimination in marketplace search/display algorithms,
Delaying or withholding payment.

Branded product sales restrictions

Law No. 7416 introduced restrictions on the intermediary service provider's sale of products of brands within its own economic group on its own marketplace. The purpose is to limit competition-distorting conduct in situations where the marketplace acts simultaneously as both arbiter and player.

Intermediary liability framework

The law confirms that the ETAHS is in principle not liable for unlawfulness arising from transactions in which it acts as intermediary; however, it imposes an obligation to immediately remove the content from circulation and notify the relevant public authority upon learning of the unlawfulness. This liability framework is to be read together with parallel regimes under the Turkish Data Protection Law (KVKK), Law No. 5651, and intellectual and industrial property legislation.

Initial Practical Balance Sheet

After more than three years of practical experience, certain patterns have become clear:

Compliance with the licensing process: Large-scale marketplaces exceeding licensing thresholds largely completed the processes despite initial bureaucratic friction. The license fee item has become a significant annual expense category for these companies.

Electronic Commerce Information System (ETBİS) registration updates: The mandatory registration process under the Electronic Commerce Information System (ETBİS) for all ETHS and ETAHS experienced significant congestion; companies faced sanctions when they failed to timely report transaction volume data, company information, and partnership structures.

Unfair commercial practice inspections: The Ministry of Commerce initiates examinations against large-scale ETAHS both ex officio and on the basis of seller complaints. Unilateral modification of intermediary contracts, delayed sales revenues, discriminatory conduct in search-ranking algorithms are frequently raised issues.

Concurrent amendment to the Distance Contracts Regulation: The new Distance Contracts Regulation entered into force on 1 October 2022; it introduced revised rules on right of withdrawal, pre-contractual information form, and return processes. The distribution of responsibility between ETHS and ETAHS vis-à-vis the consumer in marketplaces became clearer with this regulation.

Continuous Work Items for Marketplace Operators

The new regime does not constitute a one-time compliance project for marketplace operators; rather, it creates a framework generating continuous work items. The following areas must be continuously monitored in daily operations:

1. Transaction volume monitoring

All thresholds established by the law are tied to net transaction value. Daily monitoring of volume data, advance forecasting of when each threshold will be reached, and provision of correct figures in annual Ministry notifications are critical. The calculation methodology (returns, cancellations, double-counting, installment effects) must be documented in advance.

2. Seller (ETHS) contracts

Intermediary contracts must comply with the unfair commercial practice prohibitions introduced by Law No. 7416. Provisions concerning unilateral modification rights, payment schedule, account suspension criteria, dispute resolution mechanisms, and prohibition of discrimination in algorithms require review.

3. Advertising and discount expenditure monitoring

Applicable advertising-discount limitations for large-scale ETAHS must be monitored in real time and must be consistent with reports submitted to the Ministry. Shared ownership of this item by the marketing and legal teams requires a sustainable structure.

4. Algorithm transparency

The principal parameters employed by search, ranking, and recommendation algorithms must be continuously scrutinized, and whether they contain discrimination favoring the operator's own brands or paid listings must be questioned. This area is expected to be subject to intensified inspections in the forthcoming period by both the Ministry of Commerce and the Competition Authority.

5. Consumer disputes

Marketplaces operating concurrently with the Distance Contracts Regulation must actively maintain compliance of right of withdrawal, pre-contractual information, return and payment processes with applicable regulations. Case law emerging from Consumer Arbitration Board and Consumer Court proceedings is an important source for updating contract templates.

6. Advertising Board inspections

Campaigns, comparative advertising, and influencer collaborations on the marketplace are subject to Advertising Board inspection. Particular care is required in marketplace operators' platform campaigns regarding claims of 'lowest price,' 'opportunity,' and the guarantees provided to consumers.

7. Personal data protection

Following the 2024 reform of the Turkish Data Protection Law (KVKK), the new Article 9 regime requires, for most marketplaces, at least for seller data, customer data, and supplier data, either standard contracts or BCR (Binding Corporate Rules) architecture. Data Processing Agreements (DPA) attached to or data protection provisions integrated into marketplace intermediary contracts are mandatory.

Obligations from the Seller (ETHS) Perspective

Law No. 7416 imposes obligations not only on marketplace operators but also on ETHS selling through them. Some matters that sellers should attend to:

When selecting a marketplace, verifying whether the intermediary contract is compatible with Law No. 7416,
Product safety, defect liability, and responsibility distribution under distance contracts rules concerning products for sale,
Compliance of campaign and discount claims with Advertising Board regulations,
Use of marketplace notification channels for brand protection and counterfeit product tracking,
Processing of customer data transmitted via the marketplace in a manner compliant with the Turkish Data Protection Law (KVKK).

Conclusion

Law No. 7416 positioned Turkey's e-commerce regime on the same intellectual ground as parallel EU regulations such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA). For marketplace operators, this is not merely a compliance cost; it is a framework that reshapes the business model. Tomorrow's competence will belong to companies that can establish the new regulations of today not as items awaiting legal teams, but as a shared working space for product, data, finance, and marketing teams.

E-commerce law in Turkey is still in its early years following the new era ushered in after 2022. In the forthcoming period, as secondary legislation and Ministry of Commerce position decisions accumulate, practical application will become increasingly clear.

The Great Transformation of the E-Commerce Law: A Balance Sheet for Marketplace Operators