LEGAL ANALYSIS OF SANCTIONS AND LIABILITIES IN THE NEW ERA OF INFLUENCER ADVERTISING IN TURKEY

LEGAL FRAMEWORK GOVERNING INFLUENCER ADVERTISING IN TURKEY

The legal regime to which influencer advertising in Turkey is subject does not consist of a single set of rules; it rests on three basic legislative sources standing in a vertical and horizontal relationship with one another. The place these sources occupy in the hierarchy of norms directly determines the type of administrative sanction, the scope of legal liability and the defence strategy in any dispute that may arise.

Applied since 2021, the Guidelines on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices of Social Media Influencers was an administrative text of a “guiding” (soft law) character rather than a binding legal norm. The removal of that position by the amendment to the Regulation has produced two basic legal consequences:

1. A stronger legal basis for administrative sanctions: Administrative-law defences run in the sector in Turkey along the lines of “the provisions of the Guidelines lack a statutory basis and do not amount to a regulatory act” have lost their force now that the rule has been written into the text of the Regulation (hard law).

2. Legality of offences and penalties, and foreseeability: The amendment has also created a legal safeguard in favour of advertisers and content creators. Sets of rules that are foreseeable, that define the prohibited conduct clearly and that prevent arbitrariness in the Advertising Board’s reviews have entered into force directly under Turkish law.

   📚 Hierarchy of Legislation on Influencer Advertising in Turkey

   ① Consumer Protection Law No. 6502

   Art. 61 (Covert Advertising) ·
   Art. 63 (Advertising Board) ·
   Art. 77 (Administrative Sanctions)

   ② Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices

   General principles of application and the basic rules on influencer advertising.

   ③ Amending Regulation of 1 July 2026

   Art. 23/A and Art. 25/A ·
   Date of entry into force: 1 August 2026

1. The Basic Statutory Ground: Consumer Protection Law No. 6502

At the top of the normative pyramid of the system in Turkey stands the Consumer Protection Law No. 6502:

• Art. 61 (Commercial advertising and the ban on covert advertising): It draws the boundaries of commercial advertising and absolutely prohibits covert advertising in audio, written or visual form through any communication medium.
• Art. 62 (Unfair commercial practices): It lays down rules, under Turkish law, on unfair practices that mislead the consumer and exploit his or her lack of experience and knowledge.
• Art. 63 (Advertising Board): It establishes the Advertising Board as the administrative authority empowered to review advertisements, to order their suspension and correction and to impose administrative fines.
• Art. 77/12 (Administrative sanctions): It sets the lower and upper limits of the administrative fines to be applied according to the medium in which the breach occurred (social media, internet, TV and so on).

Statutory definition of covert advertising (Law No. 6502 Art. 61/4):

“Without it being clearly stated that they are advertisements, the inclusion in articles, news, broadcasts and programmes of names, trade marks, logos or other distinctive shapes or expressions relating to goods or services, or of trade names or business names, for the purpose of advertising and their presentation in a promotional manner is regarded as covert advertising. In any communication medium, covert advertising in audio, written and visual form is prohibited.”

2. The Implementing Regulation: Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices

The general principles drawn by the Law are carried into administrative practice by the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices, published in the Official Gazette No. 29232 of 10 January 2015. The Regulation sets out in detail the principles of honesty, accuracy and transparency that advertisers, advertising agencies and media organisations in Turkey are required to observe.

3. The New Legal Regime in Turkey: Amending Regulation of 1 July 2026

The amendment to the Regulation published in the Official Gazette No. 33297 of 1 July 2026 added Articles 23/A and 25/A to the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices and made far-reaching changes to Articles 4, 14, 17, 18, 27, 28/B and 28/C.

With its entry into force on 1 August 2026, the new rules gave the players in the sector (brands, agencies and influencers) only a 1-month window for integration and compliance in Turkey.

Mandatory wording and disclosure (Regulation Art. 23/A/3):

“In advertisements made through a social media influencer, one of the expressions ‘Advertisement’ or ‘Promotion’ must be included. Together with those expressions, the content must also include either the name or the trade name of the advertiser or one of the statements ‘Provided by @[advertiser].’, ‘Thanks to @[advertiser] for sending me the products.’, ‘Thanks to @[advertiser].’“

WHAT CHANGED IN INFLUENCER ADVERTISING RULES IN TURKEY AS OF 1 AUGUST 2026?

The new administrative and legal regime imposes concrete and binding obligations along four basic axes, ranging from who counts as a “social media influencer” to which posts will be treated as advertising, and from the standards for using advertising disclosures to artificial intelligence applications.

• Definition and Scope of a Social Media Influencer in Turkey

Under the normative definition added to Article 4 of the Regulation, a social media influencer in Turkey is a natural or legal person who, through social media channels, directly or indirectly, on his or her own behalf or on behalf of an advertiser, engages in marketing communication by sharing content aimed at promoting a good or a service and converts that communication into any kind of benefit.

That definition removes a great deal of the uncertainty seen in practice in Turkey and rests on three basic legal elements:

1. Legal persons are covered: The definition brings within the scope of direct liability not only individual (natural person) accounts but also legal persons that run content production and advertising collaborations through a company, an agency or a production structure.

2. The concept of “indirect” promotion: The words “indirectly” in the text bring within the rules posts that steer the user towards a particular good or service, imply experience of a product or contain implicit guidance, even where the brand’s trade name or logo is not visible.

3. The criterion of pecuniary and non-pecuniary benefit: Under Turkish law, a payment in money (a fee) is not a condition for legal liability to arise. Sample products supplied free of charge, personalised discount codes, accommodation, invitations to launches and events, and barter agreements are also treated as falling within the notion of “benefit”.

The legislation sets no lower threshold in terms of follower numbers or reach (micro, macro, nano). Accordingly, in Turkey all accounts that post in return for a benefit are subject to the administrative obligations, regardless of how many followers they have.

• Which Posts Are Treated as Advertising in Turkey?

Under Turkish law, the second paragraph of Article 23/A of the Regulation lists the situations in which content is accepted as being commercial advertising and as having to be clearly labelled as follows:

1. Direct or indirect steering: Steering the user (through a link, tagging and so on) towards a good or service belonging to the advertiser or directly towards the advertiser’s own digital channels.
2. Obtaining a pecuniary or non-pecuniary benefit: Obtaining advantages from the advertiser such as earnings in money or free or discounted goods or services.
3. Promotional posts: Sharing prize draw, competition, gift wheel or campaign content organised in order to promote a good or service belonging to the advertiser.
4. Attendance at events and launches: Posting in return for any benefit obtained by attending an organisation, event or launch held by the advertiser in Turkey.

Because of the words “in situations such as” used in the article, this enumeration is illustrative rather than an exhaustive, closed list. Any post not listed there but which, under the principle of good faith and the principles of consumer law in Turkey, amounts to “commercial communication based on a relationship of benefit” is therefore also subject to administrative review.

• Are Products Sent Free of Charge Covered by the Advertising Rules in Turkey?

Under subparagraph (b) of the second paragraph of Article 23/A of the Regulation, obtaining goods or services free of charge or at a discount is expressly treated as a benefit. The fact that no payment in money has been made in return for the post does not, in Turkish law, take the content outside the notion of commercial advertising.

The approach frequently relied on in the sector, namely “The product came to me as a gift or in a gift package, so this is a personal post.” is entirely without legal foundation under the legislation in force.

Where the influencer receives a gift or a sample product, buys the product at a discount or benefits from a campaign, receives sponsored travel or accommodation support or attends an invitation, a hospitality event or a launch organisation, a relationship of benefit is accepted to exist between the brand and the influencer. The post therefore has the legal character of an advertisement or commercial promotion, and the use of advertising disclosures in the post is mandatory.

• The Burden of Proving That a Post Is an Advertisement, and the Data That Serve as Evidence

In practice, the central dispute in Advertising Board reviews concerns the existence of a relationship of benefit. Courier and delivery records, the parties’ email and messaging logs, invoices and dispatch notes, and bank account movements are concrete evidence proving that relationship in an administrative review under Turkish law.

Which Party Bears the Burden of Proof? (Law No. 6502 Art. 61/6):

“The burden of proving the accuracy of the claims contained in a commercial advertisement lies with the advertiser.”

Under that provision, the responsibility for proving that the post is not based on a commercial collaboration and that there is no relationship of benefit lies with the advertiser brand and the influencer.

• Are Brand Event and Launch Posts Treated as Advertising in Turkey?

Launch and event posts are among the rules of the new administrative regime that will have the widest practical effect and that carry the greatest risk of an administrative monetary fine. Posts made in return for any benefit obtained by attending an event held by the advertiser have expressly been brought within the scope of advertising in Turkey.

1. Sponsored events and launches: Covering the costs of travel, accommodation, hospitality, meals or invitations legally amounts to a “benefit”.
2. The labelling requirement: A commercial collaboration disclosure must be used in story, post, video or reels content shared during or after such organisations.

• “Advertisement” or “Promotion”? How Have the Disclosure Standards Narrowed With The New Advertising Rules in Turkey?

The third paragraph of Article 23/A of the Regulation has removed altogether the free-form expressions that social media influencers could use in their content and has imposed a twofold restriction.

Instead of the flexible and vague expressions used in the era of the old Guidelines (“#collab”, “#sponsored”, “#partnership” and the like), the use of only the standard expressions listed in the legislation has been made mandatory under Turkish advertising law.

1. First Layer: The Mandatory Expression

Content shared by influencers must use one of the following two expressions directly and in a way that leaves no room for doubt:

• “Reklam” (Advertisement)
• “Tanıtım” (Promotion)

2. Second Layer: The Advertiser’s Identity and the Thank-You Template

Disclosures used in posts that amount to commercial advertising must be clear, understandable and such as not to mislead the consumer. Writing only “Reklam” (Advertisement) or “Tanıtım” (Promotion) does not on its own satisfy the legal obligation under advertising law in Turkey. Alongside those expressions there must be either the advertiser’s name or trade name or one of the template statements exhaustively listed in the legislation.

On that basis, expressions such as “Advertisement – @[advertiser], Promotion – Provided by @[advertiser]., Advertisement – Thanks to @[advertiser] for sending me the products. or Promotion – Thanks to @[advertiser]”. are among the correct examples of advertising disclosure showing that the advertising relationship has been openly notified to consumers. These statements must be used in a position that is visible and easy to notice, so that the commercial purpose of the post can be understood at first glance.

Writing only “Advertisement” or “Promotion” without stating the name of the brand that sent the product, or adding the brand name to the disclosure in a size that cannot be read or that hides it, breaches Article 23/A of the Regulation and gives rise to liability to administrative sanctions in Turkey.

• Are the Tags #Collab and #Sponsored Still Enough Under The New Advertising Regulation in Turkey?

This is one of the most frequent mistakes in the sector and directly triggers the risk of an administrative fine after 1 August 2026.

Tags such as #işbirliği (#collab), #sponsor, #sponsorlu (sponsored), #ortaklık (partnership) or #hediye (gift), widely used in the era of the 2021 Guidelines, have been deprived of effect by Article 23/A of the Regulation. The new rules are mandatory and allow no flexibility; they accept the use of the words “Reklam” (Ad – Advertisement) or “Tanıtım” (Promotion) only.

The legal consequence of this change and restriction in the legislation is very clear. Brands, digital communication agencies and influencers must urgently update their existing content briefs, approval processes and the disclosure templates in their contract annexes.

Where a disclosure not expressly listed in the Regulation is used, the fact that the purpose of the content was in good faith, or that the breach was not committed intentionally, does not remove the administrative monetary fine; under the principles of administrative law in Turkey it gives rise to liability to administrative sanctions all the same.

• How Must the Advertiser’s Identity Be Stated in Turkey Under New Turkish Advertising Law?

Article 23/A of the Regulation permits three alternative options in Turkey for revealing the advertiser’s identity:

1. The trade name or brand name directly: Writing out directly the trade name or the registered trade mark of the legal person supplying the good or service concerned.

2. The supplier statement: Using the template @[reklam veren] tarafından sağlandı. (Provided by @[advertiser].)

3. The thank-you statements: Choosing one of the templates Ürünleri bana gönderdiği için @[reklam verene] teşekkürler. (Thanks to @[advertiser] for sending me the products.) or @[reklam verene] teşekkürler. (Thanks to @[advertiser].)

The parties are free to choose whichever of these 3 options they wish. However, for the template chosen to be legally valid under Turkish advertising law it must fully meet the standards of visibility, legibility and font size in the content.

• What Are the Rules on the Visibility of the Advertising Label in Turkey?

The fourth paragraph of Article 23/A of the Regulation subjects not only the existence of disclosures but also their formal and visual qualities to mandatory rules. Even where the expression is present, posts that fail to meet the standards listed below are treated in Turkish law as a breach (surreptitious advertising):

1. Contrast and legibility: The expression must be in a colour clearly distinguishable from the background and the colours used in the post, and in an easily legible size.
2. Visibility at first glance (the no-scrolling condition): Under Turkish legislation, the consumer must see the disclosure label the moment he or she encounters the post. If the consumer has to scroll down (scroll down) or press the “Read More” button in order to notice it, this rule is treated as breached.
3. The priority rule (coming before other tags): Where a post contains more than one hashtag (#) or description, the advertising disclosure must come before all of them.
4. No overlap with the technical interface: It must be placed in a position that does not clash with the platform’s technical icons, the profile photo, the user name or lower-band text.

A critical legal detail (the priority principle):

Under the old practice it could be regarded as sufficient for the advertising expression to appear somewhere among the other tags. In the new era, however, the order of the tags is a condition of legal validity in Turkey. An #Advertisement orAd - @brandname expression hidden at the end of the text block or among 10 hashtags is treated as invalid under Article 23/A/4 of the Regulation.

• How Is Labelling Done in Multi-Frame Stories and in Reposts?

Subparagraphs (d) and (e) of paragraph 4 of Article 23/A of the Regulation clearly resolve the scenarios in which content is spread widely or shared more than once:

1. Multi-Frame Posts (Story Series / Carousel)

Where the content consists of more than one frame or post (for example a series of 5 Instagram Stories posted one after the other, or swipeable posts), the advertising expression must appear separately in each frame of the post. Placing a disclosure label on the first frame only and removing it from the following frames creates a direct risk of administrative sanctions in Turkey.

2. Cross-Platform and Repost (Adding to a Story) Content

Moving a post into a different sharing format (for example sharing a feed post as a Story, or quoting a Reels video) is treated in Turkish law as a new and independent post. Accordingly, even if the original post carried a disclosure label, when that post is moved into a Story the disclosure “Advertisement – @brandname” must be added again on the new frame.

• How Is the Disclosure Made in Audio-Only Broadcasts (Podcast / Radio) in Turkey?

A separate notification rule is laid down for podcasts, voice chats, club broadcasts and similar channels presented in audio format only. Under the fifth paragraph of Article 23/A of the Regulation, because visual labelling is not possible in audio posts, an audible notification obligation applies in Turkey:

1. The template wording: The broadcast must expressly include the statement "[reklam veren] hakkında reklam/tanıtım içerir." (“Contains advertising/promotion about [advertiser].”).
2. The double-notification requirement: The legislation does not treat a single announcement as sufficient. The disclosure must be repeated twice, both at the very beginning of the broadcast and immediately before the advertising section begins. Thanking a sponsor generally at the start of the broadcast and making no announcement at the moment of the advertisement is treated as a breach of the Regulation.

• What Obligations Arise for Content Produced with Artificial Intelligence?

The Amending Regulation introduced two basic rules in order to prevent the manipulative effects on consumers of developing digital technologies and artificial intelligence content:

1. Duty to Disclose Artificial Intelligence and Digital Characters (Art. 18/8)

Where artificial intelligence (AI), deep learning software or digital virtual characters (CGI / virtual influencer) indistinguishable from a human being are used in advertisements in a way that affects consumers’ economic decision-making, this must, under Turkish legislation, be stated in the content clearly, understandably and visibly. No impression may be created in the consumer that the content is a real person or real footage.

2. Prohibition of False Experience and Endorsement Through a Digital Copy (Art. 27/12)

Paragraph 12 added to Article 27 of the Regulation lays down a directly mandatory prohibition. Advertisements in which the voice and image of a real person are cloned with artificial intelligence technologies (deepfake and the like) and which give the impression that the person personally used the good or service concerned or recommended it may on no account be made.

Advertising content produced with artificial intelligence without the consent of the persons concerned does not merely give rise to an administrative fine before the Advertising Board; it also produces the following legal consequences:

1. Infringement of personality rights (Turkish Code of Obligations Art. 58): The person whose voice or face is used without permission acquires a right to non-pecuniary damages.
2. Unfair competition (Turkish Commercial Code Art. 55): Because of commercial practices contrary to the rule of good faith, competitors and interested parties have the right to bring an action in Turkey.
3. Criminal liability: In serious cases where consumers are deceived by cloning a trade name, a face and a voice, criminal proceedings may be brought under the Turkish Penal Code for the offences of fraud (TPC Arts. 157/158) and unlawful acquisition of personal data (TPC Art. 136).

• What Does the Ban on Targeted Advertising to Children Cover in Turkey?

Article 25/A, added to the legislation by the Amending Regulation, has for the first time given targeted advertising (targeted advertising), widely used in digital marketing, a direct legal definition in Turkey and has introduced two basic mandatory rules.

For targeted advertising activities to be regarded as lawful, direct, clear and easily accessible information must be provided about which criteria (field of interest, location, search history and so on) were used to show the advertisement to the consumer concerned and about how the consumer may change or switch off those criteria.

In order to protect the inexperience of children in the digital space and their vulnerability to exploitation, the Regulation (Art. 25/A-3) lays down an absolute prohibition:

Where it is known that the consumer is a child or where this may reasonably be expected to be known, targeted advertising may not be carried out using profiling methods based on personal data.”

That prohibition interacts directly with the provisions of the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698 (KVKK). Processing data showing that the consumer is a child, profiling that data and using it for advertising targeting gives rise both to an administrative fine before the Advertising Board and to severe sanctions before the Personal Data Protection Authority (KVKK).

Accordingly, brands and agencies that collaborate with content creators whose audience consists mainly of children (gaming, toy, education, cartoon and similar channels) must, in Turkey, carry out a separate legal compliance (compliance) review in the design of their campaigns under the heading of protection of personal data and data privacy.

WHAT KEY CLAUSES SHOULD A BRAND–INFLUENCER COLLABORATION AGREEMENT CONTAIN IN TURKEY?

There is no specific type of contract defined under the name “influencer agreement” in the Turkish law of obligations. In practice this legal relationship is set up as a contract of a mixed character that combines elements of the contracts for work, services and agency under the Turkish Code of Obligations No. 6098 (TCO), bringing together work, service and agency features.

The new advertising rules have radically changed the function of the contract. Collaboration agreements concluded between brands and influencers are no longer merely commercial texts setting out the fee and the delivery schedule; they are at the same time legal compliance documents in which the risk of administrative sanctions is allocated between the parties.

The minimum clauses that should appear in brand–influencer agreements concluded in the new era are assessed as follows:

1. Compliance Undertaking on the Legislation and the Advertising Expression

The agreement should expressly state the content creator’s undertaking to comply fully with Article 23/A of the Regulation. An abstract and general statement such as “All legal requirements shall be complied with” is not, however, enough to protect the brand in administrative reviews under Turkish law.

Whether the expression to be used will be “Advertisement” or “Promotion”, the template with which the advertiser’s identity will be stated (for example “provided by @brandname”) and the visual or audible position of the disclosure label should be written into the agreement in concrete terms. That concreteness allows the brand to prove, in the event of a breach, that it “showed all necessary supervision and care”.

2. Content Approval and Prior Review Process

The agreement should make clear that the content will be submitted to the brand or the agency before publication, the approval period and the legal consequences of publication without approval. It is critical that the approval process is run in writing or through a durable medium (email, project management tools). Approval records are, in an Advertising Board review, the strongest evidence that the brand met its supervisory obligation in Turkey. The agreement should also guarantee that these records are kept after the campaign ends throughout any limitation periods that may apply to a review.

3. Recourse and Allocation of Liability for Administrative Fines

This is the financially most sensitive provision of the collaboration agreement. Whether an administrative monetary fine imposed by the Advertising Board on one of the parties may be recovered from the other in proportion to fault should be regulated expressly under Turkish legislation.

There is one basic limit of administrative law that must not be overlooked here: A right of recourse clause takes effect only in the internal relationship between the parties (in private law) and cannot be raised against the administration. Writing into the agreement that “All legal liability and administrative fines belong to the influencer” does not prevent the State from fining the brand. Once the brand has paid the fine, it has the right to recover that amount from the content creator by way of litigation and enforcement and bankruptcy proceedings in Turkey, pursuing its recourse claim against the creator.

4. Intellectual Property: Licence or Assignment?

Where the videos, photographs and texts produced by the influencer qualify as a “work”, Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (FSEK) applies. The assignment of economic rights or the grant of a licence is subject to a strict requirement of written form in Turkey, and the rights transferred (adaptation, reproduction, distribution, performance, communication to the public) must be listed one by one.

The right of use should be limited and made concrete in four dimensions:

1. Duration: For how long will the content be used?
2. Territory: Only in Turkey, or worldwide?
3. Channel: Only on social media, or on television and outdoor advertising as well?
4. Purpose: May the brand pin this content to its own profile or use it as paid advertising?

The influencer agreement should also draw clear boundaries, within the scope of intellectual property law in Turkey, around who is responsible for the licence fees of the music and visual fonts used in the content and the limits on the use of the brand’s registered logo.

5. Exclusivity, Duration and Contractual Penalty

Brands may legitimately wish to prevent the influencer from working with competing firms for a certain period. The duration, geographical scope and definition of a “competitor” in an exclusivity clause must, however, be drafted narrowly and clearly. A non-compete obligation with uncertain limits and no time limit may be held absolutely void by the Turkish courts on the ground that it excessively restricts the constitutional freedom to work and economic freedom.

The amount of any contractual penalty added to the influencer agreement must also be balanced. It should not be forgotten that, under TCO Art. 182, the judge may reduce of his or her own motion a contractual penalty found to be excessive (the power of reduction).

6. Fee, Taxation and Invoicing

The agreement must state in unambiguous terms whether the service fee agreed is net or gross and must set out the withholding tax and VAT obligations that arise under Turkish tax law. For content creators working with brands based abroad in particular, risks of international double taxation may arise in relation to the taxation of foreign-sourced income in Turkey. Where the activity is carried on through a capital company (limited liability company or joint stock company) rather than an individual account, the applicable corporate law and tax debt liability regimes change, so the contracting party must be identified correctly. In that situation it is important to obtain support from a tax lawyer in Turkey.

7. Personal Data (KVKK) Obligations in Prize Draws and Campaigns

The moment an influencer collects information such as name, surname and address from followers for a prize draw or gift campaign, he or she acquires the status of a “Data Controller” directly under Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698, whether or not he or she has a company established in Turkey.

The agreement should regulate who will provide the privacy notice, how explicit consent will be obtained and the timetable for destroying or deleting the data. If the data collected is to be transferred to the brand, the legal basis for that data transfer must be set out and underlined.

8. Removal of Content and Termination of the Agreement

The agreement should include the emergency procedure to be applied where the Advertising Board issues an interim suspension order or an order for the removal of the content. (Within how many hours will the content be taken down, and what will happen to the fee already paid?)

The brand should also be given a right of immediate termination for just cause against an influencer who makes posts that seriously damage the brand’s reputation, cause public outrage or constitute the offence of insult.

If elements of subordination to instructions, quasi-working-hours continuity and full economic dependence become too concentrated in the contract between the influencer and the agency or brand, the Turkish courts may characterise the relationship as a hidden “employment contract“. In that scenario dismissal compensation such as notice pay and severance pay and employee rights may arise under Turkish employment law, so the agreement must reflect a structure based on independent working.

ANNULMENT ACTIONS AND LEGAL REMEDIES AGAINST ADVERTISING BOARD FINES IN TURKEY

Where a breach of the influencer advertising rules or of the ban on covert advertising is established, the Advertising Board serves its administrative decision on the parties concerned and, within the framework of the constitutional right of access to justice, the judicial timetable starts to run. Procedural mistakes made during that administrative process can rarely be put right afterwards, because the periods involved are forfeiture periods in Turkish law.

• Which Sanctions May the Advertising Board Impose in Turkey?

Under Articles 63 and 77 of Consumer Protection Law No. 6502, the Advertising Board is empowered to apply the following administrative sanctions together or separately, according to the nature of the breach:

1. Suspension of the advertisement: Removal from publication of the post constituting the breach, or suspension of the advertising activity in Turkey.
2. Publication of a correction: Announcement to the public of a correction text to be determined by the administration, through the same medium and method in which the breach occurred.
3. Administrative fine: Imposition of a monetary fine within the lower and upper limits set out in the Law.
4. Suspension as an interim measure: An order suspending the advertisement as an interim measure for up to 3 months until the investigation or review is completed.
5. Blocking of access / removal of content: For breaches in the online environment in Turkey, the Advertising Board first notifies the party concerned to remove the content within 24 hours. If the content is not removed despite that notification, it orders access to the content to be blocked, the decision being sent to the Access Providers Association (ESB).

Where such breaches of the legislation are repeated within one year through the same medium, the administrative fine to be applied is increased by up to 10 times under Turkish legislation.

• 2026 Administrative Fine Amounts in Turkey and the Advertising Board’s Discretion

Under the communiqués published by the Ministry of Trade, the lower and upper limits of the administrative monetary fines in Law No. 6502 are increased each year by the revaluation rate under Turkish legislation. Following the revaluation increase of 25.49% applied in 2025, the range of fines set for 2026 is as follows:

The Advertising Board does not have unlimited or arbitrary discretion when setting a fine. Under paragraph 12 of Article 77 of Law No. 6502, the Board must take the following concrete parameters into account and discuss them in the reasoning of its decision when determining the amount:

1. The unlawfulness content of the breach and its effect on public order,
2. The size of the unlawful benefit obtained or of the loss caused,
3. The degree of fault of the perpetrator (intent or negligence),
4. The economic position of the perpetrator and the scale of the business.

Where those criteria have not been openly discussed in the reasoning of the administrative decision and the reasons for departing from the lower limit have not been made concrete, this is, in Turkish law, a basic ground of unlawfulness to be raised in an annulment action before the Administrative Court.

• How Many Days Is the Time Limit for Bringing an Action Against Advertising Board Fines in Turkey?

In annulment actions brought against Advertising Board decisions in Turkey, the question of the forfeiture period is among the most frequently discussed issues, and the one that leads to the loss of rights, in administrative judicial practice in Turkey.

Under Art. 7/1 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, the general procedural law, the period for bringing an action before the Administrative Courts is 60 days from the day following the date of service. That general period applies, however, only where no different rule is laid down in a special law.

The rule contained in paragraph 2 of Article 78, headed “Competence and objection in respect of fines”, of Consumer Protection Law No. 6502:

“Recourse may be had to the administrative courts against administrative sanction decisions given under the provisions of this Law, in accordance with the provisions of the Code of Administrative Procedure No. 2577 of 6/1/1982. However, an action before the administrative court shall be brought within thirty days from the day following service of the act.”

is in the nature of a special law and must be applied in priority to the general period for bringing an action.

As a result, the period for bringing an action against administrative fines and administrative sanction decisions given by the Advertising Board is, under Article 78/2 of Law No. 6502, 30 days. The general 60-day period in the Code of Administrative Procedure does not apply to these disputes, because a different period is expressly laid down in the special law.

Under Article 8 of the Code of Administrative Procedure, periods for bringing an action start to run from the day following the day on which the decision was served on the party concerned. Weekends and public holidays are included in the period. If the last day of the period falls on a holiday, however, the period for bringing an action is automatically extended until the end of working hours on the first working day following the holiday in the Turkish legal system.

• Before Which Court Is an Annulment Action Brought Against Advertising Board Fines in Turkey?

Under Law No. 6502 and Turkish administrative procedure, the courts with jurisdiction over the sanctions of an administrative monetary fine, suspension, an interim measure, correction or removal of content and blocking of access imposed by the Advertising Board are the Administrative Courts. The fact that the administrative fine is applied not on its own but together with suspension or correction sanctions puts the jurisdiction of the administrative courts beyond doubt. Under Article 32/1 of the Code of Administrative Procedure No. 2577, because the administrative authority that adopted the act at issue (the Advertising Board Presidency of the Ministry of Trade) is located in Ankara, the courts with territorial jurisdiction are the Ankara Administrative Courts.

• Does Bringing an Annulment Action Stop Collection of the Fine or the Sanction?

Under Article 27/1 of the Code of Administrative Procedure No. 2577, bringing an annulment lawsuit before the administrative court does not of itself suspend the enforcement of the act at issue.

Even where an action has been brought before the Turkish courts, the administration may continue the process of collecting the fine, may enforce the order suspending the advertisement and may keep the blocking of access in force. The only way of preventing those adverse administrative consequences and commercial losses is to request a stay of execution expressly in the statement of claim.

For the court to grant a stay of execution, the following two conditions must be met together (cumulatively):

1. The administrative act must be clearly unlawful,
2. Damage that is difficult or impossible to make good must arise if the administrative act is applied.

For a content creator or a brand, the suspension of ongoing digital campaigns, media purchases that come to nothing, irreparable loss of commercial reputation and the erosion of potential customers form the basis of the “damage that is difficult to make good” to be put before the court.

• Does an Application to the Administration Suspend the Time Limit for Bringing an Action in Turkey?

Under Article 11 of the Code of Administrative Procedure No. 2577 (İYUK), persons or bodies against whom an administrative sanction has been applied may, within the period for bringing an action, ask the administration that adopted the act (the Ministry of Trade / the Advertising Board) to withdraw the administrative act, revoke it, amend it or adopt a new act.

That application suspends the period for bringing an action that has already started to run in Turkey.

1. Suspension of the period: The period for bringing an action, which starts to run on service of the decision, is suspended (for example by an application made on the 10th day).

2. Time to reply: Under Turkish law, the administration must reply to the application within 30 days.

3. Implied refusal or express refusal:

   • If the administration expressly refuses the application, from the date on which the refusal decision is served,

   • If the administration gives no reply at all within 30 days (implied refusal), from the day on which the 30-day period expires, the period resumes running from where it left off.

4. Calculation of the remaining period: When the action is brought, the time that elapsed before the application is taken into account and the action must be brought before the Administrative Court in Turkey within the remaining period.

   📌 The Process in an Application Under Art. 11 of the Code of Administrative Procedure

   📄 Service of the administrative act

   ↓

   ⏳ 10 days pass

   ↓

   📝 Application under Art. 11

   ↓

   ⏸️ The administration suspends the period

   ↓

   ❌ Express refusal or implied refusal after 30 days

   ↓

   ⚖️ The remaining 20-day period for bringing an action continues to run

An application under Article 11 is a strategic route that, under Turkish administrative law, gives the administration the chance to correct its act where there is a concrete material error, new evidence or an overlooked procedural defect underlying the decision. The smallest mistake in counting the suspended and remaining days may, however, lead to the action being dismissed on procedural grounds for expiry of the time limit (lack of standing in terms of time).

• Grounds of Unlawfulness That May Be Raised in a Statement of Claim for the Annulment of an Advertising Board Fine

In statements of claim prepared against Advertising Board fines, concrete grounds of unlawfulness should be built on the 5 basic elements of an administrative act (competence, form and procedure, cause, subject matter and purpose):

1. As to the subject-matter element: The argument that the post does not have the character of a commercial advertisement or a covert promotion and that there is no direct or indirect commercial or economic relationship of benefit between the advertiser and the content creator.
2. As to the cause element: The Advertising Board’s failure to prove the breach with concrete and objective evidence, and its basing the review on insufficient and one-sided screenshots.
3. As to the principles of proportionality and commensurability: The failure to discuss concretely in the reasoning of the decision the criteria of unlawfulness content, degree of fault, benefit obtained and economic position when setting the amount of the fine under Art. 77/12 of Law No. 6502, or departure from the lower limit without reason.
4. The principle that penalties are personal: The application of a sanction to a party with no editorial control over the post at issue and no causal link to it (for example an agency acting independently of the advertiser, or third parties).
5. Application of the more favourable rule: The requirement, under Art. 5 of Misdemeanours Law No. 5326, that new legislative rules that enter into force during the proceedings or the investigation and that are in favour of the person concerned be applied.
6. Procedure and rights of defence: Restriction of the rights of defence, failure to observe the principles of a fair hearing during the review process, or the adoption of the administrative decision with insufficient reasoning.

Raising the social media labelling and disclosure rules from the level of guidelines to the level of a regulation (Art. 23/A) has weakened defences along the lines of “Guidelines are not administratively binding”. In the new era, the centre of the defence before the Turkish courts should be proportionality, the insufficiency of concrete evidence and the lack of reasoning in setting the fine.

• Who Is Fined for Advertising Breaches in Turkey?

Where there is a breach involving a covert advertisement or misleading promotion in influencer advertising, the Advertising Board does not confine liability to a single actor. Under paragraph 7 of Article 61 of Consumer Protection Law No. 6502: advertisers, advertising agencies and media organisations are obliged to comply with the provisions of the legislation.

Rather than dividing liability between the parties, the legislation places a separate and independent legal obligation on each actor. The practical result in Turkey is that the Advertising Board may apply an administrative sanction or an administrative fine to all three parties separately because of a single post or campaign.

1. As Regards the Brand (the Advertiser)

Defences by brands along the lines of “The influencer who made the post forgot to add the disclosure“ or “We did not publish the content ourselves” are as a rule invalid before the Advertising Board. The brand bears the burden of proving that it informed the content creator about the legislation, gave the necessary instructions and made reasonable supervisory efforts to prevent breaches under Turkish law.

2. As Regards the Influencer (Content Creator)

An influencer who publishes the content on his or her own social media account is the direct perpetrator of the breach and the media organisation. Reasons such as “The brand instructed me to do it” or “I copied the text prepared by the agency word for word” do not save the influencer from an administrative fine in the Turkish legal system. As the owner of the medium in which the breach occurred, the Advertising Board may apply an administrative fine and an order for removal of the content directly to the influencer.

3. As Regards Intermediary Advertising Agencies

Agencies bear a supervisory obligation to the extent that they are responsible for designing the campaign, for content approval processes and for giving directions. Agencies that fail to check the compliance of the content with the legislation or that give faulty directions also become direct addressees of an administrative fine in Turkey.

Because the administrative fines applied by the Advertising Board in Turkey are public in character, no decision to the effect that “the other party shall pay the fine” can be obtained before the Board. The only way for the parties to protect themselves against monetary fines is through private law contracts. Obtaining the support of a commercial lawyer in Turkey in designing this kind of commercial relationship reduces the disputes that arise later.

• Right of recourse clause: Where the brand is exposed to a monetary fine because a disclosure label was not used in the post, express contractual provisions should be added stating that the fine paid will be recovered from the influencer.
• A three-party contract structure: A holder of trademark rights, the agency and the influencer should prefer a three-party contract structure in order to make the limits of authority and supervision clear in the relationship between them.
• Contractual penalty and damages: Contractual penalty clauses should be included for loss of reputation suffered because of the breach and for losses caused by stopping the campaign.

THE PRIVATE LAW DIMENSION OF DISPUTES BETWEEN BRAND AND INFLUENCER UNDER TURKISH LAW

Once the administrative processes conducted by the Advertising Board have been completed, or while they are still under way, the internal relationship between the brand, the content creator (influencer) and the intermediary agency leaves the public sphere and becomes subject entirely to the regime of private law and contract law in Turkey.

Disputes between the parties to the contract are not limited to recovering the monetary fine by way of a recourse claim. Where the parties act in breach of their contractual undertakings, where the brand’s reputation is damaged or where the campaign is disrupted, wide-ranging private law liabilities arise under Turkish law:

• The division between the competent judicial routes: While an annulment case against the administrative act and fine adopted by the Advertising Board is brought before the Administrative Court, application is made to the civil courts (the Civil Court of First Instance / the Commercial Court of First Instance) for recourse between the parties for the loss suffered because of the fine, termination of the contract for just cause, collection of a contractual penalty or claims for damages or debts.
• Mandatory mediation as a condition of bringing an action: Under Article 5/A of the Turkish Commercial Code, in claims for debts and damages whose subject matter is the payment of a sum of money and which relate to the commercial enterprise of both parties or which are commercial in nature, exhausting the mandatory mediation process before bringing an action is a condition of the action. Recourse or damages actions brought without applying to mediation are dismissed by the court on procedural grounds.
• The contractual recourse mechanism: Administrative fine decisions bind the addressee of the fine directly as against the administration. Accordingly, the brand or the influencer on whom the fine is imposed can claim the amount of the fine paid and the commercial losses suffered because of the breach from the other party only on the basis of the recourse, damages and allocation-of-fault clauses contained in the collaboration contract between them.

WHY IS LEGAL SUPPORT NEEDED IN INFLUENCER MARKETING IN TURKEY?

Influencer marketing in Turkey and digital advertising are not limited to a single legal discipline. The disputes encountered in this field lie at the exact intersection of consumer law, administrative law, commercial law, intellectual property law and tax law. A traditional legal approach focused on a single field alone carries the danger of overlooking the dynamic risks of the digital world and the administrative sanction mechanisms that go with it.

Both at the stage of the administrative review and in the judicial process, the critical advantages of obtaining professional support from a specialist lawyer are as follows:

1. Compliance Review Against the Change in the Legislation

Social media campaigns that are live or planned, influencer briefs and brand directions must be reviewed in advance for compliance with the legislation. Choosing the advertising labels in the content correctly, positioning them properly and presenting them in a form that is legible and visible prevents large-scale administrative fines on its own under advertising law in Turkey.

2. Updating the Contract Regime

A large proportion of old-style collaboration agreements contain vague expressions left over from the era of the guidance and guidelines. Revising the contracts in line with the new administrative regime and:

• clarifying the recourse clauses,
• setting up content approval and editorial review mechanisms,
• adding contractual penalty and damages clauses prevents a second private law dispute arising between the parties in Turkey if an administrative fine is imposed.

3. Following the Administrative Judicial Procedure

In the administrative and judicial processes conducted against Advertising Board decisions, it is vitally important to comply fully with the procedural rules and the statutory periods. Correctly following forfeiture provisions such as the special 30-day period for bringing an action in Article 78/2 of Law No. 6502 is the guarantee of the freedom to seek justice in Turkey. In the knowledge that the smallest mistake or missed deadline in administrative judicial procedure will lead to the action being dismissed on procedural grounds, calculating the periods in the special law correctly, supporting requests for a stay of execution with reasons and observing the rules on administrative applications and proceedings prevent irreparable losses of reputation, time and money.

4. Effective Defence and Building the Evidence File at the Board Stage

The Advertising Board conducts its reviews largely on the written file. WhatsApp messages, email approvals, contractual provisions or information forms that are not submitted during the administrative review and defence stage may not have the expected legal effect when they are put forward for the first time in the annulment action before the Administrative Court. It is therefore essential that the set of evidence is built completely from the outset.

Now that the rules of application in influencer advertising have been made clear at the level of a regulation as of 1 August 2026, the first precedent decisions of the Advertising Board will draw the legal boundaries of the sector. Protection against administrative sanctions and securing commercial reputation make it essential that processes are put through a legal filter from beginning to end in Turkey.