In the written statement made by the Ministry, it was stated that the Advertising Board resolutely continues its investigations and inspections of advertisements and commercial practices that deceive consumers, exploit consumers’ lack of knowledge and experience, damage consumer confidence and lead to unfair competition. It was stated that in the 372nd meeting of the Advertising Board held on August 13, 2026, 105 files were discussed and it was decided to impose a total administrative fine of 32 million 683 thousand 631 TL on 87 files that were found to be contrary to the legislation. Thus, in the first 7 months of 2026, as a result of the evaluation of approximately 26 thousand applications, it was noted that a total of 218 million 478 thousand 14 TL administrative fines were imposed due to unfair commercial practices and advertisements that were deceptive to consumers and contrary to the legislation.
PENALTY FOR NOT PUBLISHING CONSUMER COMMENTS FOR UNFAIR REASONS
Stating that the issue of not publishing consumer comments was also discussed in the 372nd meeting of the Advertising Board, it was stated that “Not publishing the comment made by the consumer about the purchased product on the website with the general justification that it is against the rules determined by the company without making a concrete explanation, was considered an unfair commercial practice. Although it is possible to publish the consumer evaluation under another evaluation category without making any changes in the content, this responsibility was placed on the consumer and an administrative fine of 2 million 167 thousand 412 TL was imposed on the relevant company due to the rejection of the comment.” In another file discussed at the Advertising Board, it was determined that many different business names and fake addresses were used on online food ordering platforms, although there was actually only one restaurant. It was evaluated that this practice created the impression that many independent businesses were operating at different addresses, that consumers were misled about the manufacturer, product evaluations and the address to which the order would be sent, and that the said practice led to unfair competition, within the scope of the legislation, administrative sanctions were taken against the two companies involved.
PUNISHMENT FOR THE APPLICATION THAT PRESENTS PRODUCT CONTENT WITH MISLEADING IMAGES
The statement also said, “In another file discussed at the Advertising Board, it was determined that the images of hazelnuts, pistachios and apricot seeds were highlighted in the packaging of a product sold under the name ‘cookie dessert’. Although the product contains 4 percent hazelnuts, 3 percent pistachios and 3 percent apricot seeds, the product contains 49.5 percent peanuts and peanuts are not included in the visual presentation on the packaging.” Although the components contained in the product content in much lower amounts are clearly highlighted through the visuals on the packaging and the general design of the packaging, it has been evaluated that the absence of peanuts, which are the highest content in the product, in the visual presentation may create an unreal perception in the consumers about the content of the product and the proportions of the components. Therefore, the relevant practice has been found to be contrary to the legislation and it has been decided to impose an administrative fine. The Ministry of Commerce will continue its inspection and enforcement efforts in order to protect the economic interests of consumers, to ensure that they have access to accurate and reliable information and to strengthen the fair competition environment. statements were included.
