Introduction

On 1 July 2026, the Ministry of Trade published the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices (the “Amended Regulation”) in the Official Gazette. The amendments introduce significant changes to the regulatory framework governing commercial advertisements and commercial practices, particularly in digital environments. They also reflect the increasing regulatory focus on transparency, consumer protection and fair competition in response to evolving advertising methods and rapidly changing digital market practices.

Key Changes Introduced by the Amended Regulation

The amendments expand the scope of the Regulation by introducing new concepts and compliance obligations applicable to digital advertising and marketing practices. Newly defined concepts include environmental claims, social media, social media influencers and consumer reviews. The amendments also revise existing rules on discount advertisements, sector-specific advertising restrictions and unfair commercial practices, while introducing new obligations for businesses operating in digital and e-commerce environments.

Environmental Claims: Advertisements containing environmental claims must be substantiated by documents obtained from authorized institutions, universities, accredited bodies or independent testing and assessment organisations. Broad or generic environmental statements may not be used in a vague or unsubstantiated manner. Advertisements must also clearly specify the product component or lifecycle stage to which the claim relates.

Discount Advertisements: For goods, the reference price before a discount will be determined based on the lowest price applied within the ten days prior to the discount period. For perishable goods and services, the immediately preceding price taken as the reference price. The amendments also introduce additional rules for discounts offered through different sales channels, loyalty programs and conditional sales campaigns.

Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) in Advertising: Where AI or similar software is used in a manner capable of materially influencing consumers’ economic behaviour, or where advertisements include AI-generated digital characters that cannot be distinguished from real persons, this must be clearly disclosed. The Amended Regulation also prohibits advertisements that create the false impression that an AI-generated digital replica of a real person has personally used, experienced or recommended the relevant product or service.

Social Media Influencer Advertising: The Amended Regulation incorporates into the regulatory text the existing disclosure requirements applicable to advertisements made through social media influencers. Such advertisements must be clearly identifiable as advertising, and mandatory disclosures (such as “Advertisement” or “Promotion”) must be displayed in a visible, legible and readily distinguishable manner in each post or content format in which the advertisement appears.

Targeted Advertising: Providers, sellers and intermediary service providers facilitating the conclusion of distance contracts on their behalf may engage in targeted advertising based on consumers online behaviour, records of preferences, location data, demographic data or similar personal data only if consumers are provided with direct and easily accessible information on the criteria used to display the advertisement and how those criteria may be changed. Profiling-based targeted advertising based on personal data is prohibited where the consumer is known, or can reasonably be expected to be, a child.

Consumer Reviews: Consumer reviews may only be accepted from consumers who have actually purchased the relevant product or service, and reviews obtained from channels where purchase verification is not possible may not be published. Businesses must ensure transparency regarding their review rules, publish reviews based on objective criteria without distinguishing between positive and negative reviews, and prevent false or manipulated reviews. In addition, the period for responding to consumer reviews before publication has been reduced from 72 hours to 48 hours.

Other Sector-Specific Restrictions: The Amended Regulation also introduces additional advertising restrictions for certain products and sectors. In particular, it prohibits advertisements suggesting that food supplements may replace a normal diet. It also clarifies the existing prohibitions on advertisements relating to medicinal products, electronic cigarettes, tobacco products and alcoholic beverages.

Conclusion

The Amended Regulation will enter into force on 1 August 2026 and reflects the Turkish regulator’s increasing focus on transparency, consumer protection and digital advertising practices. Although the practical impact will vary depending on the nature of each business’s advertising activities, businesses should assess their existing advertising and marketing practices in light of the new requirements and implement any necessary compliance measures before the amendments become effective.
The full text of the Amended Regulation is available at this link.