Advertisements must comply with the principles determined by the Board of Advertisement (“Board”) operating under the General Directorate of Consumer Protection and Market Surveillance of the Ministry of Trade, and must be appropriate to general morality, public order, personal rights, and must be truthful and honest.
The Board has the authority to determine, regulate, inspect, and enforce the principles that must be followed in advertisements. Through this supervision and enforcement mechanism, the Board makes regulations to protect consumers, examines unfair commercial practices, and imposes penalties such as suspension, correction, administrative fines, temporary suspension, or content removal and/or blocking access, when necessary.
In its recent inspections, the Board has examined the advertising activities of various companies and administrative fines and suspensions on some companies as a result of these activities
These decisions have been made in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices (“
Regulation”), with the aim of protecting consumers and preventing unfair competition. The Board's inspections are of great importance in evaluating the accuracy of statements used in advertising campaigns and how they affect consumer perception. In this context, the Board's recent decisions are detailed below.
A. Some Important Decisions from the Press Release of the Board Meeting No. 346 dated 11.06.2024
- During the inspections conducted by the Board, it was determined that Hepsiburada platform advertised with the phrases “Turkey's most recommended e-commerce brand Hepsiburada is number 1!”/Turkey's number 1”. In the assessment, it was emphasized that the research was insufficient in terms of scope and accuracy, and that the advertisements were misleading to the average consumer perception. As a result, a administrative fine of TRY 2,200,258.00 and an order to suspend the advertisements were imposed on the Hepsiburada platform.
- In the inspections conducted for the Enuygun platform, it was determined that consumers were misled in the promotion and implementation of the “Priority Return Assurance” service. It was found that the website used the phrases “I want Priority Return Assurance” and “I do not want Priority Return Assurance, I do not need any assurance,” and that consumers were encouraged to purchase additional services with the “Recommended” label. Emphasizing that this significantly affected consumers' economic behavior, an advertising suspension penalty was imposed on the Enuygun platform.
- (iii) In the advertisements of the Sigortam Net platform, it was found that phrases such as “Don't pay double for a similar insurance” were used. Upon examination, it was determined that these claims were not based on objective and measurable data and contained personal opinions. As a result, a fine of TRY 550,059 and an order to suspend the advertisements were imposed on the Sigortam Net platform.
- It was determined that in the promotions of Mavi Giyim Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi's All Blue Collection, phrases such as “All Blue. More Blue. Better. Best for All of Us... 26% less water consumption... 24% less energy usage...” were used. Upon examination, it was found that these statements on the website were declarative about the environment but lacked comparison content and caused ambiguity among consumers. Additionally, since information about the contents of the materials used was not provided, it was assessed that consumers might be misled into believing that all products in the collection were made entirely from the stated materials. Therefore, Mavi Giyim Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi was issued an advertising suspension penalty.
B. Conclusion
The Board's recent inspections demonstrate its determination to protect consumers and ensure fair competition. The fact that the phrases used in advertisements comply with the relevant legislation, particularly the Regulation, is of critical importance for the protection of consumer rights and fair competition in the market.
Penalties imposed on companies such as Hepsiburada, Enuygun, Sigortam Net, Mavi Giyim, and others highlight the importance of advertisements being based on objective and measurable data.
In the context of these fines and suspension orders, it can be said that;
- Promotions with misleading, incomplete or exaggerated statements are penalized by considering their potential impact on consumer economic behavior.
- In this context, companies are once again reminded that they must strictly comply with legal regulations when developing their advertising campaigns.
You can access the Press Release of the Board Meeting No. 346 dated 11.06.2024, which includes the above-mentioned decisions,
here.
Senior Associate, Cerensu Çetin Yenigün
Trainee Lawyer, Gökçe Aksoy