Turkey: İYS Deadlines Extended

Deadlines for service providers to register with the Electronic Messages Management System (tr. IYS) and transfer recipient consents to the IYS, according to the Regulation on Commercial Communication and Commercial Electronic Messages ("Regulation") have been extended.

Per the announcement of the Ministry of Trade ("Ministry") published on November 30, 2020, service providers must complete registration and transfer process until;

• December 31, 2020 for service providers with more than 150,000 commercial electronic message consents; and
• May 31, 2021 for service providers with 150,000 or less commercial electronic message consents.

The deadlines for recipients to review, accept or withdraw electronic message consents transferred to the IYS are determined as follows;

• February 15, 2021 for consents transferred by service providers with more than 150,000 commercial electronic message consents; and
• July 15, 2021 for consents transferred by service providers with 150,000 or less commercial electronic message consents.

Announcement of the Ministry is available online here (in Turkish).

Conclusion

According to the Regulation, service providers wishing to send commercial electronic messages must register with and transfer recipient consents to the IYS. Consents that are not transferred to IYS by the foregoing deadlines will be deemed invalid, unless a new extension is introduced by the Ministry.
Consequently, companies sending further commercial communications to its customer portfolio whose opt-ins are not transferred to the IYS will be in breach of e-commerce legislation.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.