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The Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices: A Practical Guideline for Companies
Introduction
The Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices (the “Regulation”) has taken its current form with the latest amendments, which entered into force on August 1, 2026. The Regulation governs a broad range of matters, including advertisements for discounted sales, environmental claims, advertisements created using artificial intelligence, collaborations with social media influencers, targeted advertising, award information and consumer reviews.
These provisions are directly relevant to the structuring and conduct of advertising, marketing, e-commerce and sales operations of companies operating in Türkiye. This article addresses the key provisions of the Regulation from the perspective of companies’ day-to-day operations and highlights the practical considerations for ensuring compliance.
Under Article 14, the Regulation provides that the “price before the discount” displayed in advertisements for discounted sales of goods must be determined based on the lowest price applied during the 10-day period preceding the date on which the discount has begun. Where a good or service is offered through different sales channels, such as a physical store, website or online marketplace, the discount must be calculated based only on the price history of the channel where the discount is applied. A price applied on one sales channel cannot be used as the basis for a discounted sale advertisement on another channel. Loyalty cards, membership programmes and similar arrangements are subject to the rules applicable to discounted sale advertisements where they are easily accessible to or usable by consumers. In conditional sales advertisements, where a benefit is tied to purchasing a certain quantity or amount of goods or services or completing a particular transaction, the rules on discounted sale advertisements do not apply, except for the rules concerning the display of the quantity of goods or services.
PRACTICAL IMPACT
Companies should maintain the price history for each sales channel separately, in an auditable manner, and should verify the previous price, discounted price and discount rate before an advertisement is published. Loyalty programmes and conditional sales campaigns should be distinguished from one another, and the applicable rules should be determined before the campaign is launched.
Under Article 17, the Regulation provides that environmental certificates, verifications and approvals used in advertisements must be substantiated by documents obtained from competent public institutions and organizations, relevant departments of universities, or accredited or independent research, testing and assessment organizations. General statements such as “environmentally friendly”, “nature-friendly”, “green” and “sustainable” cannot be used without explaining their scope or in a manner that creates uncertainty for consumers. It must be clearly stated which part, component or life-cycle stage of the product the environmental claim relates to. Information concerning the method used to measure or assess the environmental impact must either be disclosed in the advertisement or made available to the consumer through a website or pop-up screen.
PRACTICAL IMPACT
Environmental claims should be concrete, measurable and verifiable. Certificates, test results and other supporting documents should be obtained before the relevant advertisement is published and retained in a manner that allows them to be submitted in the event of an examination by the Advertising Board. Otherwise, the relevant claims could be considered misleading advertising or “greenwashing”.
Under Article 18, the Regulation states that where artificial intelligence or other software is used in a manner that will materially affect consumers’ economic behavior, or where digital characters that cannot be distinguished from real persons are featured in an advertisement, this must be disclosed in a clear, comprehensible and distinguishable manner. It is prohibited to use a digital replica of a real person created by artificial intelligence technologies in advertisements in a manner that gives the impression that the person has experienced, used or endorsed a good or service.
PRACTICAL IMPACT
Companies and advertising agencies should carefully assess AI-generated images, audio and digital characters before publishing the advertisement. Any required disclosure should be placed directly in connection with the advertisement and in a manner that is readily noticeable to consumers.
Social media influencers (“Influencers”) are defined as natural or legal entities who share content on social media for the purpose of promoting a good or service for themselves or on behalf of an advertiser and who derive a benefit from such communication. Under Article 23/A of the Regulation, where an Influencer receives payment, a free or discounted product, or another benefit from an advertiser, the advertising nature of the relevant content must be clearly disclosed. This obligation also covers content featuring the advertiser’s giveaways, competitions, campaigns or events in return for a benefit. In influencer advertisements, one of the following statements must be used together with the word “Advertisement” or “Promotion” and the name or trade name of the advertiser:
- “Provided by @[advertiser].”
- “Special thanks to @[advertiser] for sending me the products.”
- “Thanks to @[advertiser].”
The statement must be visible at first glance, distinguishable from the background and easy to read. It must not require the consumer to scroll the screen or navigate to another area and must appear before any other tags. In Influencer collaborations involving multiple posts, stories or videos, the disclosure must be included separately in each item of content. For audio-only content, the statement “[@advertiser] advertisement/promotion” must be used at the beginning of the broadcast and before the advertisement.
PRACTICAL IMPACT
The advertising disclosures that are used in Influencer agreements, the placement of such disclosures and the content approval process should be expressly regulated in the relevant contracts. Posts should be approved before publication and consistently monitored after publication. It must be recognized that the fact that the content is prepared by the Influencer does not eliminate the advertiser’s responsibilities under the Regulation.
Under Article 25/A, the Regulation displays that advertisements specifically to certain persons or groups by analyzing consumers’ online behavior, past preferences, locations, demographic characteristics or similar personal data are considered targeted advertising. Consumers must be provided with information that is directly accessible and easy to understand regarding the criteria used to display an advertisement and how those criteria can be changed. Where it is known, or reasonably expected to be known, that if a consumer is a child, then targeted advertising based on profiling using personal data cannot be displayed.
PRACTICAL IMPACT
Companies should provide consumers with an accessible mechanism explaining why a particular advertisement is shown to them and enabling them to change their targeting preferences. Targeted advertising campaigns conducted through advertising agencies and digital platforms should also be incorporated into companies’ compliance processes.
Under Article 27, a digital copy of a real person created by artificial intelligence cannot be used in advertisements in a manner that gives the impression that the person has experienced, used or endorsed a good or service. Advertisements which are directed at consumers should also not include information about awards granted in return for a benefit and not based on objectively determined criteria announced in advance.
PRACTICAL IMPACT
The basis on which awards and rankings used in advertisements were granted should be examined, including the granting institution, methodology and applicable criteria. Awards that are obtained in return for an entry fee, sponsorship fee or other benefit should not be used as an advertising element where they are not based on objectively determined criteria announced in advance.
Under Article 28/B, the Regulation sets out that only consumers whose purchase of the relevant good or service has been verified can be permitted to submit reviews; reviews obtained from other sources where the purchase cannot be verified must not be published. No distinction can be made between positive and negative reviews, and reviews must be published for at least one year based on objective criteria such as date or rating. Where a review is not published, the consumer must be informed immediately of the reason. Unverified or false consumer reviews cannot be used in advertisements, and services cannot be procured for preparing such reviews. Where consumers’ harm is solved, this situation must be published in the same place as the original review once verified. The seller or service provider must be given at least 48 hours to respond; if no response is provided within this period, the review must be published directly.
PRACTICAL IMPACT
Companies should establish technical and operational systems for purchase verification, review moderation and response processes. Negative reviews must not be arbitrarily deleted, delayed or deprioritized. Relevant teams should be structured so that reviews can be examined within the 48-hour period.
Advertising Board Sanctions for Violations of the Regulation and Legal Actions Against Such Sanctions
The Advertising Board is authorized to supervise the compliance of commercial advertisements and unfair commercial practices with the Regulation. If a violation is identified in an examination conducted ex officio or upon application, the Board can order the suspension of the advertisement also its correction by using the same method, and the imposition of an administrative fine, separately or jointly. Where necessary, the advertisement can be suspended as a precautionary measure until the examination is completed and for a maximum period of three months. Decisions of the Advertising Board are published on the Board’s website.
Where a decision of the Advertising Board is considered illegitimate, an administrative application can be made under Article 11 of the Turkish Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577 to request that the decision be revoked, withdrawn or amended. In addition, an action for annulment can be brought before the competent administrative court within 30 days from the day following notification of the decision.
Submitting an administrative application or bringing an action for annulment does not directly suspend the execution of the sanction. Accordingly, companies should assess without delay the impact of the sanction on their commercial activities and, where necessary, request a suspend of execution together with the action for annulment.
Analysis
The obligations introduced under the Regulation affect various stages of companies’ day-to-day commercial activities in Türkiye, ranging from pricing and campaign management to environmental claims, the usage of artificial intelligence, influencer collaborations, targeted advertising and consumer reviews. In this context, companies should assess their advertising and marketing processes holistically, establish pre-publication control mechanisms, and retain relevant records and documents in a manner suitable for inspection. Such a framework will enable companies to identify and prevent legal and commercial risks at their source, rather than relying on a reactive approach based on remedying regulatory breaches after a campaign has been published.
The above information reflects the general assessments of YılmazÜlker Attorney Partnership ("YılmazÜlker") regarding the subject matter and does not constitute legal opinion or legal consultancy services. Before taking any action based on the matters stated herein, it is recommended to seek professional legal advice by considering the specific circumstances of the case. YılmazÜlker shall not be held liable for any consequences arising from or in connection with the content of this document.
