Compliance with Media Sector

In order to create a legal and competitive environment in the media sector, some independent auditing institutions have been established and these institutions have been allowed to impose various sanctions when an illegal situation occurs.

i.          Radio and Television Supreme Council

Radio and Television Supreme Council (“RTÜK”) is an autonomous and impartial public legal entity responsible for regulating and supervising radio and television activities. RTÜK was established to ensure the compliance of radio, television and on-demand broadcasting services with the law.

RTÜK imposes certain obligations on institutions and organizations that broadcast television or radio. RTÜK warns private radio and television organizations in case the broadcasting organization violates the broadcasting principles or violates the permission conditions. If this warning is not followed by private radio and television institutions, broadcasting may be banned by RTÜK from 1 to 12 times. In case of non-compliance with the rules after the suspension, RTÜK has the authority to impose an administrative fine or completely cancel the license according to Article 32[1] OF the Law No. 6112 on the Establishment and Broadcasting Services of Radio and Television  (“Media Law”).

Among the activities of the RTÜK, projects and studies aimed at informing children and young people about the negative effects of broadcasting have an important place. The subject of an important part of the sanction decisions of RTÜK is the content of harmful broadcasts for children. For these reasons, RTÜK has implemented projects such as Good Sleep Children Project, Media Literacy Lesson and Smart Signs Symbol System aimed at protecting children from negative broadcast content.

According to Article 37 of the Media Law, one of the duties of the RTÜK is to conduct or have public opinion polls made regarding broadcasting services and to share the results of these researches with the relevant parties and the public. RTÜK measures the public's feelings, thoughts and opinions about radio and television broadcasts, within the framework of the duties and authorities given to it by law. For this, public opinion surveys are carried out regularly.

RTÜK represents Türkiye in international platforms operating in the field of broadcasting. The work of the Council of Europe in the field of media has been followed by the RTÜK on behalf of Türkiye since 1994.

ii.         Advertising Self-Regulatory Board

Another regulatory entity, namely, the Advertising Self-Regulatory Board ("Advertisement Board”), which was established under the Turkish Ministry of Trade, and is the main authority controlling advertisements for all media, including broadcasts on TV, radio, and on the internet in Türkiye.

The Advertisement Board was established by the Association of Advertisers (RVD) and the Association of Advertisers (RD) to form a platform in accordance with Article 25 of the Law on Associations. The main purpose of the Advertisement Board is to protect and observe the consumer's right to be informed about goods and services, and to produce advertisements in accordance with the principles of accuracy and honesty that inform the society.[2] In this context, upon the applications made to the Advertisement Board, an investigation is made about the advertisement and, if deemed appropriate, an administrative fine or a penalty may be imposed on the advertisement.[3]

Today, as a result of the development of technology and the increase in consumers awareness, unfair practices by companies are emerging and the importance of the Advertisement Board is increasing. It is of great importance that advertisements are prepared and published within the framework of both ethical rules and laws and regulations, especially in order to prevent unfair competition between brands and to protect the rights of consumers.

iii.         Turkish Competition Authority

Furthermore, “Turkish Competition Authority” is entitled to take action against distortion of competition according to the Competition Law. The Competition Authority is the legal entity for the prohibition of cartels and other restrictions on competition, prevention of abuse of dominant position by an entity, which has dominance in a certain market and prevention of the creation of new monopolies by monitoring some merger and acquisition transactions.[4]

If a competitive threat is detected by the Competition Authority in the goods and services markets, an administrative fine may be imposed on the relevant institution or institution or it may be decided to close the relevant institution.

[1] AVSALLI, Hüseyin (1997), Radyo ve Televizyon Üst Kurulu, p.133-147, http://nek.istanbul.edu.tr:4444/ekos/TEZ/32241.pdf

[2] EŞİYOK, Elif (2018), Control Of Advertising In Türkiye: An Analysis On Advertising Board Decision, Inonu University Law Review, 9(2), p. 599-604, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/610177.

[3] https://www.rok.org.tr/ictuzuk/

[4] https://www.rekabet.gov.tr/tr/Sayfa/Kurumsal/hakkimizda 

Tagged with: Media & Entertainment, Alper Law Office, Dilşad Karakuş, Onur Alper, Radio and Television Supreme Council, RTÜK, Advertising Self-Regulatory Board, Advertisement Board, Establishment and Broadcasting Services of Radio and Television