The Decisions of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority on the Prohibition of Placing Advertisements on Social Network Providers that Do Not Fulfill the Obligation to Appoint and to Announce Representatives ("ICTA Decisions") have been published in the Official Gazette dated 19 January 2021 and numbered 31369 and entered into force on the date of publication.
Under the ICTA Decisions, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority (“
ICTA”) has placed a prohibition on placing advertisements on social network providers such as Twitter, Pinterest and Periscope, which did not appoint representatives in Turkey. The prohibition to advertise imposed upon social media networks such as Twitter, Periscope and Pinterest, which have a large number of users in Turkey, on the grounds that they did not assign representatives in Turkey within the specified time period, is an important step in the practical implementation of social media restrictions in Turkey.
Obligation to Appoint Representatives in Turkey
Per the Law on the Regulation of Publications on the Internet and Combating Crimes Committed with such Publications numbered 5661 ("
Internet Law"), an obligation was imposed on social network providers originating from abroad, which are accessed daily more than 1 million times in Turkey, to appoint at least one person as representative in Turkey, in order to ensure contact between users and competent authorities and social network providers.
A
two-stage administrative fine was imposed, which is the first step in sanctions against social network providers who fail to meet this obligation within 30 days, despite being notified of the obligation to appoint representatives.
Accordingly, ICTA's attitude and decisions were anticipated, regarding a ban on advertising, which was to be applied if no representative is appointed within 30 days following the notification of the second administrative fine.
It is now prohibited to place new advertisements on Twitter, Pinterest and Periscope.
Per the ICTA Decisions, it is now prohibited, for natural and legal persons that are residing and paying taxes in Turkey,
to execute any agreement for the purpose of placing advertisements on social network providers named Twitter, Pinterest and Periscope, which still have not fulfilled their obligations to appoint representatives, and to transfer any money in relation with these.
If the relevant social network providers do not appoint any representative until 19 April 2021, the internet traffic bandwidths to these social network providers may be reduced by 50%; if the violation continues within 30 days after bandwidth throttling, traffic bandwidth throttling may be increased by up to 90%.
However, if the obligation to appoint a representative is fulfilled, only a quarter of the administrative fines imposed will be collected and the advertising ban will be lifted.
In this regard, the attitudes of social media giants, which are also popular advertising platforms, regarding their obligation to appoint representatives, are closely monitored.
Please click
here to access the full text of the ICTA Decisions.
Nur Duygu Bozkurt Kadirhan, Senior Associate
Burak Batı, Associate
Doruk Köklü, Legal Intern