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Turkey commercial advertising and consumer protection

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2026-10-05 17:51 UTC → 2026-10-06 06:41 UTC · added ~~removed~~

The Turkish Ministry of Trade has intensified its efforts to combat deceptive practices in e-commerce and digital services. The Advertising Board continues to target artificial engagement, including fake reviews, likes, follower counts, and star ratings used to manipulate consumer preferences. Investigations have identified services designed to suppress negative feedback and the use of bots to artificially inflate product popularity. As a result, access to numerous websites providing these deceptive services has been blocked. To prevent the distortion of economic behaviors, the Ministry has implemented strict measures under the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices. Ministry Press Advisor Bekir Kaplan stated that the ministry ‘will not permit the misleading of citizens through fraudulent digital evaluations.’ Under these rules, consumer evaluations are permitted only by individuals who have actually purchased the relevant good or service. Reviews must be published without distinction between positive or negative sentiments, must be displayed using objective criteria—such as date, rating, or seller—and must remain published for at least one year. Sellers violating these procedures face administrative sanctions under Law No. 6502. Recent enforcement actions have expanded to food delivery platforms. The Advertising Board has imposed ~~a 1,083,000 TL fine on~~ administrative sanctions and ordered the cessation of commercial practices against companies for creating the illusion of multiple independent establishments. Specifically, Data Gurme Gıda Turizm Ticaret Limited Şirketi was fined 1,083,000 TL for operating nine different restaurant names—such as Sushi Samba and Noodle Factory—from a single physical ~~location~~ location. The Ministry has also targeted other companies using different business names, addresses, and fake reviews to ~~create a misleading perception of multiple independent businesses.~~ simulate variety. The Ministry continues to monitor for deceptive pricing, undisclosed advertisements, and influencer promotions, with administrative fines for internet advertisements potentially reaching up to 10,837,065 ~~TL. In a separate regulatory development, the Ministry is monitoring the price of simit in Istanbul following a 20 percent increase from 25 TL to 30~~ TL.

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