KVKK and cold email in Türkiye: the basics for B2B
Sending a commercial email to an employee of a Turkish company touches two sets of rules: Law No. 6563 and its regulation on commercial electronic messages, and KVKK, Law No. 6698 on personal data. This page is general information, not legal advice; ask a lawyer about your own case.
In short
- Law 6563, art. 6: commercial electronic messages need prior consent, except that they may be sent to merchants and tradesmen (tacir ve esnaf) without it.
- Regulation, art. 6: before sending to merchants or tradesmen without consent, their addresses must be registered in İYS and checked there for an opt-out.
- Law 6563, art. 8: a recipient can refuse at any time, and sending must stop within three business days of the request.
- A named work email is personal data under KVKK, which requires a legal basis for processing and an information notice.
- TechSales handles opt-outs and Do Not Contact; it does not register addresses in İYS or check İYS for you.
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Commercial electronic messages: the merchant exemption
Article 6 of Law No. 6563 on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce says commercial electronic messages may be sent only with the recipient's prior consent, and its second paragraph adds that they may be sent to tradesmen and merchants without prior consent.
Article 6 of the Regulation on Commercial Communication and Commercial Electronic Messages ties that exemption to İYS, the national message management system. Under paragraph 3, merchants and tradesmen may be sent messages without consent, but not once they have used their right to refuse. Paragraph 6, added in 2020, says that before sending such messages the sender registers the recipients' addresses in İYS and checks there whether they have refused.
These rules cover messages sent to electronic addresses such as email, SMS and phone. The texts do not explicitly address LinkedIn messages; ask a lawyer about those.
Opt-out and sender identity
- Law 6563, art. 8: recipients may refuse commercial electronic messages at any time without giving a reason; the sender stops within three business days of receiving the request.
- Regulation, art. 8: the message identifies the sender; for merchants, the MERSİS number and trade name, for tradesmen, the name and Turkish ID or tax number.
KVKK: a work email is personal data
KVKK (Law No. 6698) treats any information about an identified or identifiable person as personal data, which includes a named work address such as [email protected], the name and the job title. Processing needs one of the legal bases in article 5 (legitimate interest of the controller is one of them), and article 10 sets an obligation to inform the person. Which basis fits you and how to inform people is a question for your lawyer.
For prospect data processed through your own accounts, you are the data controller and TechSales is the processor. See the Privacy Policy.
What TechSales does and does not do
| Does | Does not |
|---|---|
| Catches Turkish and English opt-out phrases ('listenizden çıkarın', 'bir daha yazmayın') and puts the person on Do Not Contact on every channel | Register addresses in İYS or check İYS |
| Pushes Do Not Contact emails and domains to the Instantly and Smartlead block lists every ten minutes; stops the person in their LinkedIn campaign | Keep consent records |
| Treats a reply that mentions KVKK as high risk; it is never answered automatically and waits for a person | Add an opt-out line to emails automatically; your copy is yours |
| Reminds you of the merchant exemption and İYS at launch for email campaigns whose audience includes Türkiye | Guarantee a campaign is compliant |
| Flags shared mailboxes and personal email addresses; revealed personal addresses are kept out of the Email column | Check whether a recipient is a merchant or tradesman |
Frequently asked questions
- Is B2B cold email legal in Türkiye?
- Law 6563 allows commercial electronic messages to merchants and tradesmen without prior consent, and the regulation requires İYS registration and an opt-out check before such sends. KVKK adds rules on processing the personal data. Ask a lawyer about your case; this page is not legal advice.
- Does İYS apply to B2B?
- Under paragraph 6 of article 6 of the regulation, addresses of merchants and tradesmen are registered in İYS and checked for refusals before messages are sent without consent.
- How fast must I stop after an opt-out?
- Within three business days of the request, under article 8 of Law 6563. In TechSales, a reply with an opt-out phrase puts the person on Do Not Contact on every channel.
- Does TechSales make me KVKK compliant?
- No, and no tool can on its own. TechSales helps you handle opt-outs and Do Not Contact; the legal basis, the information notice and İYS remain your responsibility.
Sources
- 6563 sayılı Elektronik Ticaretin Düzenlenmesi Hakkında Kanun (mevzuat.gov.tr)
- Ticari İletişim ve Ticari Elektronik İletiler Hakkında Yönetmelik (mevzuat.gov.tr)
- 6698 sayılı Kişisel Verilerin Korunması Kanunu (mevzuat.gov.tr)
- Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698, English text (kvkk.gov.tr)
- T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı: Ticari elektronik iletiler, genel bilgiler
- T.C. Ticaret Bakanlığı: İleti Yönetim Sistemi (İYS)
- İYS (iys.org.tr)
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