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E-Commerce Law

IT Law

E-commerce is an important field of commercial activity that has greatly changed the way businesses reach their customers today. Unlike traditional commercial transactions, sales made over the internet are subject to specific legal rules concerning consumer rights, electronic contracts, the protection of personal data and the rules of digital trade.

In e-commerce, simply selling goods or services is not enough. Every stage, from pre-sale and payment to delivery and after-sales service, must be carried out in compliance with the legislation. Otherwise, businesses may face consumer complaints, administrative sanctions and legal disputes.

For an e-commerce website to operate in a reliable and lawful manner, users must be properly informed, contracts must be drafted correctly and sales processes must be organised in compliance with the legislation.

For e-commerce businesses, the following are particularly important legal topics:

  • distance sales contracts (mesafeli satış sözleşmesi),
  • the obligation to provide pre-contractual information (ön bilgilendirme),
  • return and right of withdrawal (cayma hakkı) procedures,
  • user agreements,
  • privacy policies,
  • personal data protection processes.

Distance Sales Contracts and Consumer Rights

In sales made over the internet, the parties do not meet physically, so the contractual process must be set out clearly and understandably. Distance sales contracts are important legal documents that determine both the consumer’s rights and the seller’s obligations.

Correctly setting out matters such as the terms of sale, product information, the delivery process, payment terms, the right of withdrawal and return procedures helps prevent disputes that may arise later.

The contracts and information texts on an e-commerce website are not merely standard texts. They must be prepared to suit the business’s field of activity, its sales model and the relationship it has with its customers.

Incomplete or incorrectly drafted user agreements, terms of sale, privacy policies and other legal texts can create serious risks for businesses.

Today, many businesses sell not only through their own website but also through various online marketplaces. In sales made on marketplace platforms, sellers’ obligations, platform rules and consumer relations should also be assessed separately.

Matters such as product descriptions, customer communication, delivery processes, return requests and consumer complaints can have legal consequences for businesses.

KVKK and Data Security in E-Commerce

E-commerce activities involve processing a large amount of personal data, such as customer details, contact data, payment information and order records. For this reason, businesses must act in compliance with their obligations to protect personal data.

Within the scope of KVKK processes under the Law on the Protection of Personal Data No. 6698 (KVKK), data collection methods, explicit consent (açık rıza) processes, the obligation to inform data subjects (aydınlatma yükümlülüğü) and data security practices should be assessed carefully.

The Role of Contracts in Digital Trade

For e-commerce businesses, not only the sales contracts concluded with customers but also the contracts concluded with suppliers, software companies, logistics companies and service providers are of great importance.

The scope of services, the allocation of responsibilities, payment terms and methods for resolving possible disputes can be secured through contracts.

Disputes arising from online sales may take the form of consumer claims, payment problems, breaches of contract, unfair reviews or commercial disagreements.

In every dispute, different legal routes are considered depending on the nature of the case. It is important for businesses to manage their processes correctly from a legal point of view so that problems can be resolved before they grow.

In e-commerce, legal support matters not only after a dispute has arisen, but also as a preventive approach that allows the business to continue its activities safely.

Properly drafted contracts, sales processes that comply with the legislation and regular legal reviews can reduce the risks a business may face in the future.

Attorney Ezgi Çalışkan works on legal matters arising from the sales processes, digital contracts, consumer relations and KVKK obligations of e-commerce businesses, as well as from commercial activities carried out over the internet.

You can obtain a professional legal opinion to assess the legal risks you may face in your online commercial activities and to create solutions suited to your business.

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