E-commerce enables businesses to carry out their business and transactions over the Internet. Through e-commerce or e-business, all these commercial processes take place electronically. People can find answers to their demands for a certain price without time and space restrictions -or at least to a minimum extent- through e-commerce. With the Internet, businesses and consumers can be served 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The e-commerce law was published in the official gazette in 2014 under the title “Law on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce” and accepted in 2015. In the Law on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce, e-commerce is defined as “all kinds of online economic and commercial activities carried out electronically without physically meeting in person”. The e-commerce law aims to secure the rights of both consumers and businesses. Through this regulation, various measures have been increased.
Regulations Introduced:
- The flow of information between the e-commerce site and the consumer is secured.
- Security measures at the payment stage when purchasing products or services have been increased and extra security systems such as 3D secure have been developed.
- Consumer rights such as the right of withdrawal, non-disclosure agreement, distance sales agreement have been expanded.
- Regulations have been made on the processing of personal data with the KVKK(The Law on the Protection of Personal Data) for the privacy of private life.
Due to e-commerce, it is possible to reach much larger masses in a faster way by aiming to keep the costs of the products to a minimum. It is aimed to protect various rights under the title of e-commerce, and even if there is a specific legislation and law for e-commerce, the title of e-commerce has been developed by combining many fields of law. These legal fields and topics are listed as Competition Law, Consumer Law, The Law on the Protection of Personal Data, Intellectual Property Law and Commercial Law arising from contractual relations arising from e-commerce.
The main purpose of the implementation of these laws is to determine which rules will be applied to businesses and consumers in e-commerce and the procedure and scope of e-commerce. Thus, the rights of consumers are secured and e-commerce is carried out in a safe manner.
2. THE RELATION BETWEEN LPPD (The Law on the Protection of Personal Data) AND E-COMMERCE
The main purpose of the Law on the Protection of Personal Data (LPPD/KVKK) is to process and protect personal data. This way, it is aimed to protect the fundamental rights and freedoms of individuals all the time. Ensuring and protecting the data security of individuals falls within the scope of LPPD. The LPPD, which is closely related to e-commerce, promises to prevent data loss, information leaks and unauthorized data processing by individuals and businesses. It determines the rights and obligations of natural and legal persons by ensuring the privacy of private life while processing personal data during e-commerce. LPPD/KVKK was accepted on March 24, 2016 and published in the Official Gazette on April 7, 2016 as Law No. 6698.
Businesses, acting in order to implement the provisions of the LPPD, should inform consumers about the application of the LPPD provisions during their shopping and obtain their consent. This approval is defined as a consumer clarification text. With the law in question, it has been made obligatory for businesses to inform the consumer and obtain consent after this information. Businesses that play an active role in e-commerce cannot share the personal data of consumers with third parties without the consent of the consumer and cannot use personal data for purposes other than their purposes. This situation is clearly stated in the LPPD.
3. THE RELATION BETWEEN CONSUMER LAW AND E-COMMERCE
Due to the nature of electronically performed consumer transactions and electronic consumer contracts, it is attempted to ensure that the procedures regarding e-commerce are established with the Law on the Protection of Consumers. The Law on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce numbered 6563, which includes provisions on the regulation of commercial communication, was published in the Official Gazette numbered 29166 on November 5, 2014. The Law on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce (LREC/ETDHK) only sets out the principles, procedures and sanctions regarding e-commerce. The Law regulates regulations on informing consumers who receive electronic services, recognizing the product or service to be purchased and preventing information that may mislead the buyer, as well as administrative sanctions to be imposed on businesses that disturb their buyers by sending spam e-mails.
4. THE RELATION BETWEEN INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW AND E-COMMERCE
Intellectual property regulates copyright and industrial property rights. Intellectual Property law is also included and evaluated in the field of e-commerce.Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works regulates the rights of authors and right holders, the conditions of use of these rights and the ways to protect these rights.
Article 1/A of the relevant law states that“This Law covers the moral and financial rights of the authors who create intellectual and artistic works, the performing artists who perform or interpret these works, the phonogram producers who make the first determination of the sounds, the producers who make the first determination of the films and the radio and television organizations on their products, the principles and procedures of disposition regarding these rights, judicial remedies and sanctions, and the duties, powers and responsibilities of the Ministry of Culture.” The expression is included.
In the event that the design products produced by the hand work of people are sold online, the design photographs added to the site in order to exhibit the products are the items that have copyright under the law numbered 5846. One of the main reasons for the existence of Intellectual Property law is to protect people against unfair competition.
5. THE RELATION BETWEEN COMPETITION LAW AND E-COMMERCE
Competition Law is the whole of the regulations that have emerged in order to ensure the healthy progress and protection of competition in the commercial market and the implementation of the obligations imposed by the Competition Authority. Competition law has emerged to prevent situations that negatively affect market competition and to draw legal boundaries to impose sanctions on undertakings that violate competition. Due to e-commerce, countless businesses and consumers meet in the virtual platform. In order to prevent the wrong product and pricing policy of the enterprises in the products and services they offer to consumers from negatively affecting both consumers and other businesses, the competition authority acts to ensure fair competition conditions.
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