Answer ... (a) Telecommunications
The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (ICTA) has the duty and authority to:
- establish and protect competition in the electronic communication sector;
- impose obligations on operators with effective market power in the relevant markets and, where necessary, on other operators; and
- take the measures stipulated by the legislation.
In this regard, the ICTA has published the Regulation on the Determination of the Operators with Effective Market Power in the Electronic Communications Sector and Their Obligations.
Within the scope of the general principles of the Competition Law:
- actors in the telecommunications industry should not implement predatory pricing strategies; and
- dominant wholesale fixed broadband internet services companies should not hinder competitors in the retail fixed broadband services market from providing their services and gaining subscribers.
To identify operators with effective market power in the relevant markets, the ICTA may conduct market analysis ex officio or upon the justified request of at least one operator. The ICTA conducts market analysis at least once every three years.
Under the Regulation on the Determination of the Operators with Effective Market Power in the Electronic Communications Sector and Their Obligations, the ICTA may impose the following obligations on operators with effective market power and may impose administrative fines in case of violation:
- transparency;
- publication of reference access and/or interconnection offers;
- non-discrimination;
- account separation;
- provision of access and/or interconnection;
- subjection to tariff controls;
- cost accounting;
- carrier selection and preselection; and
- provision of minimum leased line group service.
(b) Internet
Internet actors should consider unfair competition provisions and measures in relation to features such as:
- domain names;
- spam;
- ad banners and pop-up ads;
- AdWords; and
- hashtags.
Harmed persons may sue for unfair competition if these:
- contain false or misleading descriptions;
- cause confusion with someone else’s goods, business products, activities or businesses; or
- constitute comparative advertising.
If a domain name violates a protected interest such as a brand, business name or trade name belonging to someone else, the rightful owner may file suit based on the unfair competition provisions.
In one of its decisions, the 11th Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation ruled that the information contained on a website content was an act of unfair competition as it constituted deceptive advertising and should thus be removed from publication.
The Law on the Regulation of Electronic Commerce also contains several provisions aimed at protecting consumers. It imposes advertising, promotion and campaign restrictions on e-commerce intermediary service providers and e-commerce service providers that play a certain role in the sector. As an example of these restrictions, e-commerce intermediary service providers cannot engage in marketing and promotion activities in online search engines such as Google through the use of registered trademarks, which constitute the main element of domain names, without the prior explicit consent of the e-commerce service provider.
(c) Media (broadcasting + print)
Law 6112 provides that media broadcast content cannot contain elements that serve unfair interests or that would lead to unfair competition. The same law defines the Radio and Television Supreme Council’s (RTSC) duties as:
- ensuring freedom of expression and information, diversity of thought, a competitive environment and pluralism without prejudice to the duties and powers of the Competition Authority in the field of broadcasting services; and
- preventing concentrations and taking the necessary measures to protect the public interest.
Based on the general principle of protection of competition in Turkey, the relevant authorities aim to protect the media from any destructive effects of media concentrations and to safeguard media pluralism to ensure a fair system. In this way, any monopolisation in the introduction of services and products to the market and their delivery to consumers is prevented.
Law 6112 also sets out some measures to prevent cartelisation in the media sector, such as the following:
- A natural or legal person can directly or indirectly become a partner in a maximum of four media service providers holding a terrestrial broadcasting licence.
- The total annual commercial communication income of media service providers in which a natural or legal person has a direct or indirect share in partnership with more than one media service provider cannot exceed 30% of the total commercial communication income in the sector. Anyone whose total commercial communication income exceeds this percentage must transfer their shares in the relevant media service providers to any third party within a 90-day period specified by the RTSC to ensure their income drops below this percentage.
- The shareholdings of spouses, blood relations and in-laws up to and including the third degree will be treated as if they belong to the same person.
(d) Social media
The general principles of the Competition Law also apply to social media. On 20 October 2022, the Competition Board imposed an administrative fine of over TRY 346 million on Meta Platforms, Inc for violating the Competition Law. According to the Competition Board, Meta had abused its dominant position by:
- combining data collected by its core services, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp;
- preventing entry into the market; and
- complicating the operations of its competitors in the online display advertising markets with social networking services.
Ads shared on any platform – including television, radio and social media – are subject to the Consumer Protection Law (6502) and the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices. Social media influencers must act in accordance with the specified consumer legislation. In this regard, social media influencers are subject to specific rules in terms of the procedures and principles of ads containing photos, videos and messages that they share on platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube. According to the Guidelines for Influencers, social media influencers must clearly state the content of promotions when promoting a product or service. In this regard, they must use labels or expressions such as ‘collaboration’, ‘advertising’, ‘sponsorship’ and ‘giveaway’ on their social media posts. These labels and expressions should be:
- distinguishable from the colours and background used in the post and in an easily readable size;
- stated in such a way and in such a position that it is understood that the post constitutes commercial advertising, without the need for consumers to do anything else when they first see the post.
If other tags or descriptions are included in the post, this should be prominently stated between the tags or descriptions.
In addition, advertisers on social media should:
- inform social media influencers about the Guidelines for Influencers;
- request them to act in accordance with the guidelines;
- ensure that they fulfil their obligations; and
- take measures against any violation.