The Constitutional Court Annuls Certain Provisions Concerning Electronic Commerce Intermediary Service Providers
The Constitutional Court’s decision dated 12 February 2026 and numbered E.2024/187, K.2026/42 was published in the Official Gazette dated 2 June 2026 and numbered 33268. Through this decision, certain provisions of Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection (Law No. 6502) and Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce (Law No. 6563) concerning the liability of electronic commerce intermediary service providers were found to be unconstitutional and annulled. In particular, the Constitutional Court assessed the provisions governing the liability of electronic commerce intermediary service providers in relation to unlawful content, defective goods, and obligations arising from consumer transactions offered by sellers or providers, within the framework of the right to property and the principle of consumer protection.
The key points of the decision are summarized below:
- The Constitutional Court annulled the provision in the first paragraph of Article 9 of Law No. 6563, which stipulated that electronic commerce intermediary service providers could not be held liable for unlawful matters relating to the sale of goods and provision of services carried out through electronic commerce platforms, insofar as it applies to consumer contracts.
- The Court considered that, given their role in consumer transactions, electronic commerce intermediary service providers may, in certain circumstances, play a significant practical role in ensuring compensation for consumer losses.
- The decision emphasized that treating electronic commerce intermediary service providers as exempt from liability in all circumstances may deprive consumers of effective legal protection, particularly where sellers or providers cannot be reached.
- The Constitutional Court also annulled the phrase contained in subparagraph (d) of paragraph six of Article 48 of Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection, which removed the joint and several liability of intermediary service providers together with sellers or providers in respect of consumer claims arising from defective goods. As a result, the joint and several liability of intermediary service providers alongside sellers or providers with respect to such claims has been preserved.
- In order to prevent any legal vacuum that may arise from the annulment, the Constitutional Court ruled that the annulment provisions will enter into force nine months after the publication of the decision in the Official Gazette.
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