Amendments to the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices
- Jul 14
- 4 min read
Selin Çetin Kumkumoğlu
Of Counsel
Yaren Alparslan
Associate
Buse Sığın
The Regulation Amending the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commer-cial Practices (the "Amending Regulation"), prepared by the Turkish Ministry of Trade, was published in the Official Gazette dated 1 July 2026 and numbered 33297. The amendments will enter into force on 1 August 2026 and introduce significant changes, particularly in rela-tion to digital advertising, the use of artificial intelligence technologies, targeted advertising, influencer marketing, consumer reviews and environmental claims.
Advertisements Created Using Artificial Intelligence
The Amending Regulation introduces, for the first time, an explicit framework governing the use of artificial intelligence in advertisements. Accordingly, where artificial intelligence or other software is used in a manner capable of materially influencing consumers' economic behaviour, or where advertisements feature AI-generated digital characters that are indistin-guishable from real persons, this fact must be clearly, intelligibly and prominently disclosed to consumers.
In addition, advertisements are prohibited from using AI-generated digital replicas of real individuals in a manner that falsely creates the impression that such individuals have perso-nally experienced, used or endorsed a product or service. This amendment introduces an im-portant restriction on the unlawful use of AI-generated digital characters and deepfake tech-nologies in advertising.
Targeted Advertising
The Regulation also introduces, for the first time, a definition of targeted advertising. Accor-dingly, advertisements displayed to specific individuals or groups based on the analysis of consumers' online behaviour, previous preferences, location data, demographic information or similar personal data by sellers, providers or intermediary service providers are deemed to constitute targeted advertising.
Businesses engaging in targeted advertising must provide consumers with direct and easily accessible information regarding the criteria used to determine why a particular advertise-ment is displayed and how those criteria may be modified.
Furthermore, where it is known or can reasonably be expected that the consumer is a child, targeted advertising based on profiling through the processing of personal data is expressly prohibited.
Advertisements by Social Media Influencers
The amendments require social media content to be clearly identified as advertising where it involves directing consumers to an advertiser's products or services, receiving financial com-pensation from an advertiser, obtaining products or services free of charge or at a discount, attending events organised by an advertiser in return for a benefit, or sharing content relating to promotional campaigns or prize draws.
Accordingly, advertisements published by social media influencers must prominently include either the wording "Advertisement" or "Promotion." Such disclosure must be immediately visible to consumers without requiring scrolling, appear before any hashtags or other labels, and be repeated in each post where multiple posts form part of the same advertising campa-ign. For audio-only content, the disclosure must be made at the beginning of the broadcast.
Discount Sale Advertisements
Under the amended provisions governing discount sale advertisements, the reference period used to determine the pre-discount price has been reduced from 30 days to 10 days.
The Regulation also clarifies that prices applied through different sales channels may not be used as reference prices for one another. In addition, discounts offered under easily accessib-le loyalty programmes and promotional campaigns subject to specified conditions are now expressly brought within the scope of the rules governing discount sale advertisements.
Consumer Reviews
The amended Regulation provides that only reviews submitted by consumers whose purchase has been verified may be published. Reviews obtained from platforms or sources where the purchase cannot be verified may neither be published nor used in advertisements.
Furthermore, where consumer reviews are presented under different categories or headings, all reviews must remain accessible within the same area in a clear and easily accessible manner.
The Regulation also prohibits purchasing services or entering into arrangements intended to generate fake or misleading consumer reviews.
Environmental Claims
The Regulation introduces, for the first time, a definition of environmental claims and estab-lishes specific rules governing advertisements containing such claims.
General expressions such as "environmentally friendly," "eco-friendly" or similar claims may no longer be used without appropriate substantiation or explanatory information.
In addition, any certifications or approvals relied upon in advertisements containing envi-ronmental claims must be supported by documentation issued by competent public authori-ties, relevant university departments, or accredited or independent research, testing or as-sessment organisations.
The amendments also require advertisers to clearly indicate the specific stage of a product's or service's life cycle to which the environmental claim relates.
Academic Titles and Awards
The Regulation seeks to prevent the misleading or deceptive use of academic titles in adver-tisements.
It also prohibits references in advertisements to awards that are not based on objectively pre-determined criteria or that have been granted in exchange for financial or other considera-tion.
Conclusion
The amendments demonstrate that Turkish advertising law is being updated to accommodate evolving digital marketing practices while introducing significant new obligations concer-ning the use of artificial intelligence, targeted advertising, profiling activities based on per-sonal data and influencer marketing.
At the same time, the new rules governing consumer reviews, environmental claims and dis-count sale advertisements are intended to enhance transparency in advertising practices and strengthen consumer protection against misleading commercial practices.
Given that the amendments will enter into force on 1 August 2026, advertisers, e-commerce platforms, digital service providers and advertising agencies should review their existing advertising and marketing practices and ensure that their AI-assisted advertising, targeted advertising activities, influencer collaborations and consumer review mechanisms comply with the new regulatory framework.
