New Era in Internet Shopping to Begin on August 1: New Rules to be Implemented

New regulations designed to protect consumers in internet shopping will come into effect on August 1. These regulations aim to provide more effective protection for consumers against unfair commercial practices and deceptive advertisements created using artificial intelligence in internet shopping. The new rules will bring significant changes to various areas of e-commerce, including digital marketing, artificial intelligence, social media influencers, and discounted sales. Hakan Çevikoğlu, Chairman of the Electronic Commerce Operators Association (ETİD), stated that new regulations will be implemented in the e-commerce sector as of August 1. Çevikoğlu emphasized that the competitive landscape of e-commerce has changed globally and that Turkey needs to update its Electronic Commerce Law, in addition to the regulatory changes, to maintain its competitive power. Regulations have been made regarding targeted advertising practices, where consumers' online behaviors and personal data are analyzed to provide personalized advertisement content. According to Çevikoğlu, advertisements for campaigns that offer discounts or other advantages to consumers will now be subject to the rules applied to discounted sales advertisements. The price used as the basis for discounts in discounted sales advertisements will be the lowest price applied in the last 10 days before the start of the discount. Additionally, social media content creators will be required to clearly indicate the promotional nature of their posts by using phrases such as 'advertisement' or 'promotion' when they receive any benefit, such as profit, discounted products or services, or participation in an event.