Recent Amendments to the Regulation on Internet Mass Use Providers

A new Regulation on Internet Mass Use Providers ("Regulation") was published in the Official Gazette on 1 April 2017, and entered into force on the same date.^[1] The Regulation was enacted based on Article 11 of Law No. 5651 on the Regulation of Broadcasts via the Internet and Prevention of Crimes Committed through Such Broadcasts ("Law"), and sets out the liabilities, obligations and auditing processes of Internet mass use providers.

The amendments are not major or extensive, but they nevertheless impose wider obligations on Internet mass use providers, which are defined as "real persons or legal entities providing the opportunity to the public to use the Internet at a certain place and in a certain period of time." It should be noted that this definition is extensive; for instance, an employer providing Internet use at its workplace might also fall thereunder. As stated above, there are new obligations imposed on the Internet mass use providers. According to the