Nowadays when we are struggling with Covid-19, we understood the vital importance of communication and correspondence once again. We constantly receive news from each other, manage our business and meet our needs through different communication tools. So, how is the communication system organized in our country and what are the rights of consumers in this sector?
Electronic communications sector in Turkey is fundamentally subject to Electronic Communications Law numbered 5809, Law on Postal Services Law numbered 6475, Law on Regulation of Electronic Commerce numbered 6563, Turkish Commercial Code numbered 6102, Law no 5651 On Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed By Means of Such Publications, secondary legislation of these laws and decisions of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority which also include principles and procedures applicable to consumers. Furthermore, there are reference regulations regarding electronic communication in various special legislation.
In accordance with the Regulation on Consumer Rights in the Electronic Communication Sector (“Regulation”) published in the Official Gazette dated 28.10.2017, consumers benefiting from electronic communication services have various rights including but not limited to the right to access services on equal terms with similar consumers and to benefit from these services at fair wages, the right to withdraw from the services that subscribers have applied with a simple method and the right to demand non-discriminatory practices with similarly positioned customers. Pursuant to the Regulation, operators providing electronic communication services are also obliged to provide consumers with the minimum information that is clear enough to make accurate evaluations during their operations, and to create transparent, fast and easily applicable solution mechanisms in responding to consumer complaints.
