Latest Developments in Media Landscape

According to the announcements published on the official website of the Ministry of Trade this week, two (2) important decisions regarding consumers have been taken by the Advertising Board.

- A fine of 17 million Turkish Liras has been imposed by the Advertising Board for Deceptive Advertisements and Activities Targeting Consumers.

During the meeting numbered 343 of the Advertising Board convened on March 12, 2024, an examination was conducted on advertisements and unfair commercial activities aimed at deceiving and misleading consumers, as well as exploiting their lack of knowledge and experience.

Out of the 134 files on the agenda, 119 were found to be in violation of regulations, leading to the decision to impose a combined administrative fine of TRY 17,037,891 along with suspension and correction sanctions, on the implicated advertisements and commercial practices.

Details regarding the decisions of the Advertisement Board have not yet been published.

- Online Shopping Sites’ Membership Conditions Scrutinized by the Advertising Board.

The main agenda of the Advertising Board’s meeting this month centered around issues such as membership practices in e-commerce, targeted advertising, and website designs aimed at collecting consumers' personal data without their explicit consent.

Accordingly, internet sites that impose membership requirements on consumers during the purchasing process were examined by the Advertising Board.

Within this scope, whether more personal data than necessary and mandatory is requested for the purchase process, whether the conditions for leaving membership are made more difficult than the methods envisaged for entering membership, whether, along with the membership agreement, consent for cookies and commercial messages is offered to consumer preference, and whether personal data is shared with third parties for targeted advertising and marketing purposes were evaluated.

In addition to academic opinions, practices abroad were also taken into account during the evaluation, and administrative fines along with suspension and correction sanctions were imposed on 12 files evaluated by the Advertising Board.

Details regarding decisions containing issues such as membership cancellation or difficulties to opt out of membership, targeted advertising, and sharing personal data will be provided later by the Ministry of Trade.