The fact that electronic commerce has developed, and its sui generis issues has made it inevitable to legislate national and international competition law regulations in this field. The electronic commerce market, which is currently handled in the field of competition law in Turkish law, has been subject to a specific competi-tion law protection within the scope of the Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce, with the amendments made in 2022. In order to prevent the acts of the major actors of the electronic commerce market, which acts can be, in particular, in the form of abuse of dominant position, anticompetitive agreements, concert-ed practices and decisions are regulated in law. These actors are tried to be kept under control by means such as license fees due to the undertaking’s share in the market, a set of trade bans, expanded violation definitions in scope and increased fines. Intervention in market conditions is among the methods of intervention in the market by the neoliberal system in order to protect the market and market conditions’ progression. Within the scope of this study, it shall be claimed that the electronic commerce market is intended to be regulated and supervised by interfering with the market conditions, and the sample regulations and practices cited support writer’s claims. In addition, when the issue is evaluated in the perspective of the European Union, we come across the European Union Digital Markets Act. As a matter of fact, it is understood that with this Act, EU has introduced heavy regulations which are based on competition law with the motive of protecting its own internal market in terms of digital markets, which are mainly in the hands of international capital and especially which is dominated by the USA and USA big-tech companies. Hence, within the scope of the study, it shall be evaluated that the regulation of the electronic commerce market through competition law, rules and practices by market conditions interven-tion, market positioning and the ways of evaluation of the rules by Competition Authority, how it is reflected in the Turkish legislation system and in the European side, by considering how the regulation of competition law of digital markets is realized. Finally, the direct relationship between the competition law, penalization policy and market created by electronic commerce, which is both independent and serving all other markets.
electronic commerce competition digital markets market domination punishment
The fact that electronic commerce has developed and become a sui generis inde-pendent market both in domestic and international parts, has made it inevitable to legislate national and international competition law regulations in this field, not only in the scope of commercial law and contractual relationship.
The electronic commerce market, which is currently handled in the field of competition law in Turkish law, has been subject to a specific competition law protection within the scope of the Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce, with the amendments made in 2022. In addition, the secondary legislations, the investigations, applied penalties and the rulemaking decisions in order to regulate the markets which are based on Competition Authority’s view and mentality, are directly affecting the electronic commerce actions. In this respect, Turkish Competition Authority published a report about e-commerce platforms. In this report Turkish e-commerce platforms market discussed in detail and it indicates that the offers concerning the politics and strategies arise on the base of competition law and the related penalizing policies of the state. Furthermore the investiga-tions which were conducted about the Turkish big e-commerce platforms (such as Trendyol, Yemek Sepeti) proved that “Most Favored Nation/Most Favored Customer” cri-teria becomes a fundamental element for detecting the breach and executing the penalizing policies, mentioned above, for the market actors.
There are many market intervention methods which are followed with the purpose of the continuity of the markets and market conditions. Intervention of the market conditions is one of these methods. Within the scope of this study, it shall be claimed that the electronic commerce market is intended to be regulated and supervised by interfering with the market conditions, and the sample regulations and practices cited support writer’s claims. Intervention in market conditions, political/diplomatic interventions arising from national and international institutions and policies, and interventions with legal instruments/legal instruments are among them. Interventions regarding the regulation of the elec-tronic commerce market can be evaluated within the scope of intervention to market condi-tions. For example, with procedures such as communiqués, tariffs, recommendations, quo-tas, prohibitions, exemptions, transactions subject to permission.
In order to prevent the acts of the major actors of the electronic commerce market, which acts can be, in particular, in the form of abuse of dominant position, anticompetitive agreements, concerted practices and decisions, these undertakings are tried to be kept under control by means such as license fees due to the undertaking’s share in the market, a set of trade bans, expanded violation definitions in scope and increased fines.
When the issue is evaluated in the side of the European Union, we come across the European Union Digital Markets Act. As a matter of fact, it is understood that with this Act, Europe has introduced heavy, national and regional regulations and prohibitions, which are based on competition law with the motive of protecting its own internal market in terms of digital markets, which are mainly in the hands of international capital and especially which is dominated by the USA and USA big-tech companies. Act have many clauses related with the “gatekeeper platforms” which are defined as an undertaking providing core platform services, designated pursuant to Art. 3 and Art. 3 says that an undertaking shall be designated as a gatekeeper if: (a) it has a significant impact on the internal market; (b) it provides a core platform service which is an important gateway for business users to reach end users; and (c) it enjoys an entrenched and durable position, in its operations, or it is foreseeable that it will enjoy such a position in the near future. DMA answers the purpose of “combat-ting” with the weak competitiveness in platform markets, unfair commercial practices against users (business and consumer), and fragmented regulation and surveillance of market play-ers operating in these markets. Because, when the European SME’s (small – medium sized enterprises) protection in the international area becomes the main motivation, this condenses the more penalizing and regulating legislations and practices.
Hence, within the scope of the study, it shall be evaluated that the regulation of the electronic commerce market through competition law, rules and practices by market conditions intervention, market positioning and the ways of evaluation of the rules by Competi-tion Authority, how it is reflected in the Turkish legislation system and in the European side, by considering how the regulation of competition law of digital markets is realized, the direct relationship between the competition law, penalization policy and market created by electronic commerce, which is both independent and actually serving all markets.
