The Regulation on Amendments to the Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices Regulation, prepared by the Ministry of Commerce and published in the Official Gazette, completely changes the understanding of advertising in the digital world.

This comprehensive regulation aims to protect consumers from the intense advertising traffic they are exposed to in the digitalizing world and to prevent deceptive practices; It introduces new rules in many critical areas, from artificial intelligence-based content to the shares of social media influencers, from discounted sales to environmentally friendly phrases.

This regulation, which will come into force on August 1, initiates a new period of responsibility for both advertisers and content producers.

• AI transparency:If characters created with artificial intelligence are used in advertising, it becomes mandatory to clearly state this and advertising referrals through digital copies is prohibited.

• New rule in discounted sales:In discounted sales ads, the price before the discount is taken as the lowest price applied in the last 10 days before the start date of the campaign.

• The necessity of “advertising” for phenomenon:In all posts that provide benefit on social media, it is necessary to use terms that will allow consumers to easily understand that the content is advertising.

An Era of Transparency in Artificial Intelligence Advertisements

Artificial intelligence, which has rapidly entered the advertising world with the development of technology, is now subject to strict rules. The Ministry stipulates that if lifelike digital characters that are indistinguishable from human beings are used in advertisements, this situation must be notified to consumers in a clear and understandable form.

More importantly, it is strictly forbidden to show a digital copy of a real person created by artificial intelligence as if he or she has personally used or recommended that work. This step aims to prevent consumer manipulation and increase trust in digital channels.

User Control in Targeted Advertising

“Targeted advertising” applications offered by analyzing users’ data on digital platforms are now on a more transparent basis.

Advertisers become obliged to clearly present to consumers the criteria by which the advertisements shown are determined and how these criteria can be changed. In addition, profiling and advertising based on personal information about children is completely prohibited. In this way, valuable time is taken to protect children, especially in the digital environment.

Social Media and Discounted Sales are Organized

In the social media world, product or service promotions offered by content producers are also disciplined. If a content producer provides any benefit (free product, discount, cash, etc.) from the work or service he shares, it must be clearly stated that this sharing is advertising.

In discounted sales, the tactic of “drawing a high price and showing a low price” is put to an end.

From now on, in such discounted sales advertisements, the price of the product before the discount is determined as the lowest price applied within 10 days before the campaign. In addition, the use of general concepts such as “environmentally friendly” is prohibited without providing any concrete evidence or explanation.

Consumer Reviews and Audits

New steps are being taken to increase the reliability of consumer comments. Consumer reviews from channels whose purchase process is not verified can no longer be published.

Additionally, the time it takes for sellers to respond to negative reviews is being reduced from 72 hours to 48 hours. If there is no response within this period, the comments are shared directly with the public.

Bans on advertisements for activities such as illegal betting, gambling and fortune-telling are further expanded and continued with determination.