The Law does not include an explicit provision concerning the process for appealing Board decisions that impose administrative fines. However, it is accepted that criminal courts of peace are the authorised courts under Law No. 5326 on Misdemeanours dated 30/3/2005 since the title of Article 18 of the Law is “Misdemeanours,” and administrative fines are issued as per Article 18 of the Law. With this in mind, decisions imposing behavioural sanctions can be appealed before…
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Cumulative protection is no longer available in light of a recent Court of Cassation decision
Trademarks are protected under the IP Code, but “name[s], title[s] or trademark[s]” are not covered by the unfair competition provisions under the new Commercial Code
The decision will have a serious impact on pending cases
In a recent decision that challenges longstanding precedents, the Court of Cassation has ruled that, in cases where trademark infringement has been found, it…
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The Board prepared the Guidelines on Cookies Applications (“Guidelines”) explaining cookies and practical advice for data controllers who process personal data through cookies. The Guidelines was published on the official website of the DPA on June 20, 2022.
Within the Guidelines, cookies in general and their types are regulated. Moreover, the types of cookies are categorised based on their timeframe, intended purpose and parties.
The relationship between the Electronic…
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Processing Sensitive Personal Data
Amendments to the law have been drafted by the Board and introduce some modifications to specific disputed provisions of the Law. These have been presented to relevant institutions and organisations for their consideration. The articles to be amended are Article 6, regulating the legal grounds for processing sensitive personal data and Article 9, regulating the transfer of personal data abroad.
Under Article 6 of the Law, explicit consent…
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The Turkish Personal Data Protection Authority (the “Turkish DPA”) published, on 1 March 2023, a summary of its Decision No. 2023/134 concerning the investigation into TikTok over its data protection measures and imposed a fine of TRY 1,750,000 (approximately EUR 87,500) against the company.
The decision of the Turkish DPA is very significant especially for service providers also targeting Turkish residents and children in Turkey. Also the Turkish DPA is not the first…
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Most recently, the Information and Communication Technologies Authority ("ICTA") blocked access to Ekşi Sözlük, one of today's largest internet communities. Although the access ban was canceled by the decision of the Ankara 4th Criminal Court of Peace, as a result of the objection to the decision, the Ankara 5th Criminal Court of Peace accepted the objection and finalized the decision to impose an access ban.
With the finalization of the decision to block access to Ekşi…
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The sanctions that the Advertisement Board has traditionally applied are the levying of administrative fines, correction decisions and precautionary or temporary suspension decisions against advertisements which violate the legal rules for advertisements broadcasted in any media including those found on the internet. In addition to these, the Advertisement Board has now been authorized to block access to online broadcasts or contents which are found to violate advertising…
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Specific rules for consumer reviews and publishing consumer complaints were introduced into Turkish law by amendments to the Advertising Regulation effective as of March 2022.
The amendments establish fundamental principles regarding consumer reviews. Some of them are as follows:
Consumer reviews may be published by only those who have purchased the relevant product or service.
Consumers should be informed of the principles for publishing consumer reviews either directly on…
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The Advertising Regulation was amended in a way to include new measures and rules to regulate advertisements containing misleading price information and to protect consumers against unfair commercial practices. The amendments entered into force in March 2022. In addition, the Advertisement Board prepared the Guideline on Advertisements Containing Price Information, Discount Sales Advertisements and Commercial Practices” (“Guideline”) that took effect in April 2022. Together…
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Until recently, there was no regulation specifically applicable for advertisements containing environmental claims. In the absence of specific regulation, the Advertisement Board has previously conducted its evaluations of such advertisements pursuant to the provisions included in the Advertising Regulation stating that advertisements must not abuse consumers’ environmental sensitivity or lack of knowledge in this field.
For example, the Board determined in a decision…
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Direct comparative advertising is considered unlawful under the Advertising Regulation as it is prohibited thereunder to mention the product name, trademark, logo, trade name, business name or other distinctive features of competitors in advertisements. Only indirect comparative advertisement not containing the trademark and distinctive features of competitors is allowed.
The Advertisement Board rendered a decision in August 2022, which was particularly relevant to the scope…
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The Advertisement Board rendered a guiding decision in September 2022 with respect to the advertisements published by an international fashion company operating in Turkey in which some food products like bread and doughnuts covered with colourful toppings were placed together with some attractive shoes and sandals also offered for sale. The Board evaluated that the advertisements violated the principle requiring that advertisements must follow the principles of fair…
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