Turkey's Competition Authority fines firms 17 billion lira in first half

The Competition Authority, led by President Birol Küle, reported that in the January‑June period it imposed administrative penalties totaling roughly 17 billion Turkish lira on 209 enterprises.

Külle said the most important outcome was "the mechanisms that strengthen lasting and sustainable competition" and noted that the sanctions cover a wide range of sectors, including a 189 million‑lira fine on seed‑market companies, investigations of Google Play, Mastercard, Visa and other digital‑platform and payment‑system actors, as well as AI‑related markets. He emphasized that fines are only one tool among broader actions to promote durable competition and consumer welfare.

The authority indicated that 47 investigations are ongoing, spanning digital services, education, labour markets, food and dairy sectors, and that it approved a merger allowing Uber's $500 million investment in Turkey, balancing investment incentives with competition safeguards.