What is the GPSR?
The General Product Safety Regulation ((EU) 2023/988, GPSR) is the EU’s horizontal safety net for consumer products, applicable since 13 December 2024. It covers products — new, used, repaired or reconditioned — that are not governed by more specific sectoral rules, and it applies to online sales as fully as to shops: an offer targeting consumers in the EU counts as making the product available on the EU market.
Who owes what
- Manufacturers must run an internal risk analysis, keep technical documentation, ensure traceability, and report accidents and dangerous products through the Safety Gate portal.
- Importers and distributors verify the compliance of what they resell and pass safety information down the chain.
- Online marketplaces must register a single contact point, design interfaces so mandatory safety information can be displayed, and act on removal orders from authorities within short statutory deadlines.
Recalls carry consumer-facing rules too: affected consumers must be contacted directly where possible and offered effective remedies, such as repair, replacement or refund.
The legal dimension: the responsible person
A consumer product may be placed on the EU market only if a responsible economic operator established in the EU — the manufacturer, an importer, an authorised representative or a fulfilment service provider — is identified for it, with contact details shown on the product or packaging. The logic resembles the EU representative under GDPR Article 27: an addressee inside the Union whom authorities can reach. For connected products, the GPSR operates alongside cybersecurity legislation such as the Cyber Resilience Act.
Turkish context
The GPSR binds Turkish sellers the moment their listings target EU consumers: a seller shipping from İstanbul through a marketplace needs an EU-established responsible person before the listing goes live, and marketplaces delist offers that lack one. Domestically, Türkiye’s product safety framework under Law No. 7223 follows the EU model, and e-commerce sellers already know registration duties through ETBİS; for exporters the GPSR adds an EU-side layer on top.
Do: appoint and label an EU responsible person for every consumer product line before listing it. Don’t: assume the marketplace’s own compliance covers you — the seller’s obligations remain its own.
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