Selen IBRAHIMOGLU GURES Attorney at Law / Managing Partner
Omer KUCUKORDU Associate
[email protected]
22 September 2025
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INTRODUCTION
Advertisements are a form of communication that plays an indispensable role in economic life as a direct means of influencing consumer preferences, promoting products or services, and facilitating commercial competition. Due to this impact, advertisements are not merely promotional tools; they also carry public importance in terms of informing and protecting consumers and enabling them to make informed economic decisions.
It is not possible to consider advertising activities as an area of unlimited freedom. When consumers are deceived through false, misleading, or exaggerated statements in advertisements, not only are individual rights violated, but the competitive environment in the market is also harmed. For this reason, advertising activities are restricted by the law and governed by a comprehensive set of specific rules.
In Turkey, advertising activities have been carried out effectively in both traditional media (TV, radio, print publications) and digital environments (social media, e-commerce sites, mobile applications), especially in recent years with the acceleration of digitalization. This change has also complicated the legal supervision of advertisements and further expanded the authority and responsibility of the Advertising Board.
The year 2024 has witnessed many developments that mark a turning point in advertising regulation. Among these developments, innovative regulations such as greenwashing and the misuse of environmental claims, dark patterns, manipulative interfaces, the supervision of influencer advertising, and the introduction of artificial intelligence–based technologies for monitoring advertisements.
LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ADVERTISING
The legal basis for advertising activities in Turkey is established primarily by Law No. 6502 on the Protection of Consumers (“Law”) and the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices (“Regulation”) and many other secodanry legislation.
The Advertising Board (“Board”) is a regulatory body operating under the Ministry of Trade with administrative and enforcement authority. The Board may initiate investigations on its own initiative or act upon consumer complaints or external reports. Board decisions are not limited to merely halting the advertisement; they may also include binding sanctions such as administrative fines, requests for access restrictions, or obligations to correct the advertisement against the relevant advertiser or implementer.
The Board's decisions are made public and contribute to the development of sectoral standards through precedent-setting cases. In 2024, the Board reviewed over 2,000 cases, focusing particularly on misleading and deceptive advertisements published in digital media.
The fundamental principles established by the legal framework can be summarized as follows:
1. Advertisements must be accurate, honest, clear, and verifiable.
2. They must not mislead or deceive consumers,
3. They must not unfairly affect competition,
4. They must include protective features for sensitive groups (children, the elderly, patients),
5. They must be based on documentation and transparency in statements such as environmental claims, health claims, and discount campaigns.
BASIC RULES AND BOARD DECISIONS THAT MUST BE FOLLOWED IN ADVERTISEMENTS
Advertisements must contain accurate information, and all claims made must be verifiable. The information provided to consumers must reflect the truth and avoid exaggerated, imaginary, or unscientific statements. Generalizations such as “the world's best detergent” or “100% effective solution” are considered misleading unless they are based on concrete data. The accuracy of claims must be supported by independent test reports or documents obtained from authorized institutions.
Advertising texts must be simple and clear enough for the average consumer to understand. Complex expressions, technical terms, or conditions written in small print may mislead consumers. Details such as discounts, campaigns, and membership should be clearly stated; expressions that may cause uncertainty in the consumer's mind should be avoided in advertisements. It is essential that the information provided is complete and clear so that consumers can make informed economic decisions.
If the information contained in an advertisement is false, incomplete, or distorted, the advertisement is considered “deceptive” or “misleading.” For example, increasing the normal price of a product and then offering a discount, or promoting a service that is not actually available, is considered unlawful. The information provided to consumers must reflect the true nature of the product and be transparent in matters that may influence economic decisions.
In advertisements for discounted sales, the previous price must be a sales price that was actually applied, and it must be possible to prove that this price was applied within 30 days prior to the start of the discount. The discount rate must be calculated correctly, and misleading visuals and text should not be used to create the impression of a larger discount than actually exists. Additionally, the time period during which the discount would be valid and any stock limits left must be clearly stated. Otherwise, consumers may misinterpret the discount conditions, and in such cases, it may be deemed that the consumer has been misled.
Comparative advertising is permitted; however, such comparisons must be based on objective and verifiable data and must not damage the reputation of the competing product or brand. Comparisons made in advertisements should be between products that meet the same needs and should not be presented in a way that misleads the consumer. Using derogatory, demeaning, or mocking language about a competitor's product constitutes unfair competition and is subject to legal sanctions.
A brand name, logo, or trade name featured in advertising content may not be used without the permission of the relevant brand owner. In particular, the term “authorized service” may only be used by businesses authorized by the brand. Using such terms to give consumers the impression that there is an organic connection with the brand constitutes both a violation of trademark rights and consumer deception. Such advertisements by unauthorized services have been explicitly prohibited by the Board.
On May 5, 2021, the Board published the Guidelines on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices by Social Media Influencers (“Guidelines”) to ensure that commercial posts made by social media influencers (“Influencers”) are clear, honest, and distinguishable. Within this scope, the Guidelines stipulate that is mandatory to clearly disclose the advertising relationship with the consumer through labels and explanations, and that Influencers cannot promote products they have not experienced, make health claims, or portray themselves as having purchased gift products. Advertisers are directly responsible for ensuring compliance with these rules.
In this context, the “Responsible Social Media Influencers Project” was launched, and training was provided to content creators. The aim of the project is to prevent social media users from hiding their commercial pasrtnerships and presenting them as “personal recommendations.” The Board has decided that promotions made on platforms such as Instagram and YouTube in exchange for monetary or other benefits from brands must be clearly labeled with tags such as “#ad” or “#collaboration.” Content without such labels has been deemed as hidden advertising, and the Board has decided to remove such posts and impose fines for repeated violations.
Dark patterns are interface designs on websites or applications that undermine consumer’s will, make certain actions difficult, or steer them in a particular direction. Examples include creating multi-step processes for subscription cancellations, hiding the cancellation button, or making it inaccessible through color differences.
The Board has classified digital advertising interfaces containing such practices as unfair commercial practices in 2024. In particular, regulations such as “automatic subscription renewal” and “the requirement to contact customer service for cancellation” that impose financial obligations on users without clearly disclosing these obligations have emerged as a significant type of violation.
In its decisions, the Board emphasized that these practices are not only unethical but also constitute systematic manipulation leading to economic transactions not based on the consumer's consent, and imposed sanctions up to blocking access.
Dietary supplements are at the center of marketing strategies during periods of increased health concerns. However, it is illegal to advertise these products as curative or preventive for diseases. The Board carefully examined the health claims made in the promotion of these products in 2024.
For example, in an advertisement containing claims such as “strengthens immunity” and “removes viruses from the body,” it was determined that these claims were not scientifically proven and that the product was being promoted as a medicine. Additionally, practices such as using cartoon characters in advertisements for children's supplements and including sweetened flavorings and visuals targeting children were deemed unethical, and a decision was made to halt such practices.
NEW GENERATION ADVERTISING APPLICATIONS
2024 was a significant milestone for the Board in terms of technological transformation. For the first time, tens of thousands of advertising contents published on social media and digital platforms were scanned and analyzed using artificial intelligence algorithms. This system, which utilizes technologies such as natural language processing (NLP), visual analysis, label control, and frequency tracking, flagged hidden advertisements, manipulative statements, and misleading environmental claims.
The Board piloted this system in certain sectors (food, textiles, technology, pharmaceuticals, etc.) and increased its manual review capacity by approximately fourfold. Additionally, the content identified by the system was verified by preliminary review committees, enabling swift decision-making processes.
Through this artificial intelligence project, the Board has developed not only a reactive but also a proactive oversight model. This approach, which keeps pace with the speed of the digital environment, is data-driven and promotes transparency, thereby enhancing the Board's effectiveness.
CONCLUSION AND EVALUATION
2024 has been a year of significant transformation in advertising law in Turkey. During this period, in which the Board both developed its structural capacity and expanded its oversight using technological tools, marketing activities conducted in the digital environment in particular were subject to detailed and systematic scrutiny.
The decisions made by the Board were not limited to interventions targeting advertising content; they also conveyed important messages regarding the prevention of new-generation deceptive techniques, such as raising consumer awareness and clarifying the responsibilities of influencers.
The legality of advertisements is no longer limited to content-based evaluation. Elements such as visual designs, digital user interfaces, campaign durations, labeling formats, and the level of information provided to consumers have also been included in the evaluation criteria. As a result, the regulatory approach to advertising activities has become more comprehensive and multi-layered.
Advertisers, media agencies, digital platforms, and influencers should be aware that they bear the following fundamental responsibilities in this new era:
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