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If you obtain a benefit in return for sharing a product you like on social media, you can no longer conceal it. Advertising rules in Türkiye have changed: the label “advertisement” is now mandatory for influencers, targeted advertising aimed at children has been banned, and advertisements created with artificial intelligence must now be clearly disclosed. So what happens if these rules are not followed? We explain the details in our article.
The Regulation Amending the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices, prepared by the Ministry of Trade and published in Official Gazette No. 33297 dated 1 July 2026, entered into force on 1 August 2026. The amendment directly affects content creators who promote products and services on social media, as well as the brands that work with them; it also introduces new rules on advertisements created with artificial intelligence, targeted advertising aimed at children and discount sale announcements. In short, the rules behind almost every advertisement we see on our phone screens have changed.
This amendment amounts to a comprehensive revision of the existing Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices, which was prepared on the basis of the Law on Consumer Protection No. 6502 and governs the fundamental principles of commercial advertising. The fact that social media has become one of the main channels of advertising in recent years, while covert advertising practices (presenting a promotion as if it were an ordinary post) have become widespread, led the Ministry to make the existing rules more concrete and stricter.
Even before the amendment, it was known as a principle that content of an advertising nature must be clearly identified as such; in practice, however, this often amounted to nothing more than a “#ad” tag squeezed in at the very bottom of a post, easily overlooked. The new regulation removes this ambiguity: if a content creator obtains any benefit in return for promoting a product or service, such as earnings, a discounted product, a free service or participation in an event, they must state this in a visible and understandable place in the post using the label “advertisement” or “promotion”. It is no longer considered sufficient to hide this label in small print, to scatter it among a pile of hashtags, or to place it in a part of the post that is not easily noticed; the label is required to be presented in a way that an average consumer can see at first glance.
Another important aspect of the regulation concerns targeted advertising aimed at children. The Regulation prohibits designating children as an advertising target audience through profiling methods based on personal data. A brand or an advertising network showing advertisements specifically to children on the basis of age, interest or behavioural data is now contrary to the legislation. This provision creates a separate compliance obligation for both advertisers and the digital platforms on which advertisements are published.
The innovation regarding artificial intelligence is also noteworthy: in advertisements that use digital characters created with artificial intelligence, this must be clearly stated, and the use of an AI-generated replica of a real person that gives the impression of a genuine experience is prohibited. In other words, if the image or voice of a celebrity saying “I use this product too” has been generated with artificial intelligence, the consumer's right to know this is now guaranteed by the legislation.
The discount announcements that consumers encounter most often also fall within the scope of the regulation. Under the new rule, if a product is marketed as “discounted”, the discount rate must be calculated by reference to the lowest price applied during the ten days preceding the discount; perishable goods are excluded from this rule. This provision aims to prevent the practice of first artificially raising a product's price and then offering it for sale under the appearance of a “big discount”. In addition, the response time for complaints about consumer reviews has been reduced from 72 hours to 48 hours, introducing a tighter timeline for platforms.
The consequences of failing to comply with these rules should not be overlooked either. Commercial advertisements are supervised by the Advertisement Board (Reklam Kurulu) within the Ministry of Trade, and the Board may issue a cessation decision against advertisements it finds contrary to the legislation and may also impose administrative sanctions under the Law on Consumer Protection. In other words, these obligations are not merely “well-meaning recommendations”; they are legal requirements subject to supervision and with concrete consequences.
So who is affected by this change in daily life, and how? For content creators, the message is clear: if any consideration is received for a product or service, stating this clearly and conspicuously in the post is no longer an option but an obligation. For brands and advertising agencies, it becomes important to monitor whether the content creators they work with comply with these rules and to add provisions to this effect to their contracts, because responsibility does not rest with the content creator alone; the advertiser is also a party under the legislation. For consumers, the practical result is this: from now on, it should be easier than before to tell whether a post is a genuine recommendation or a paid promotion, although the extent to which the rule is actually enforced will be shown by the Advertisement Board's decisions in the coming months.
Another point to bear in mind in practice is the line between entry into force and retroactive effect. The Regulation applies to new content published from 1 August 2026; as for promotional content that was shared earlier and remains accessible after that date, reviewing existing posts and updating them where necessary stands out as a precautionary step in the event of a possible inspection. The Advertisement Board is expected to issue its first decisions under these new provisions in the coming months; these decisions will also clarify the concrete criteria for a label to be considered “sufficiently visible”.
In conclusion, this change in the field of digital advertising marks the beginning of a new era for content creators, brands and consumers alike. Anyone who earns income through social media would do well to review their current posting practices in light of these new obligations.
