The Advertisement Board of the Ministry of Trade imposed a total of 89 million 59 thousand 840 TL in administrative fines on influencers and advertisements made on digital platforms that generated income through ‘covert advertising’ in the first 8 months of the year. While the administrative fine imposed on an influencer who advertised against the legislation last year was 347 thousand 128 lira, this amount was increased by the revaluation rate and became 550 thousand 59 lira in 2024.

With the growth of social media platforms, brands have started to collaborate with influencers to promote their products. Social media influencers usually promote products by integrating them into their lives in a natural way. The Ministry of Commerce is closely monitoring social media influencers and influencers who engage in ‘covert advertising’ without disclosing that they are collaborating with brands.  Ref: https://www.haberler.com/

Ankit Agarwal, a company founder wrote an interesting piece on LinkedIn titled  “Influencer Marketing” which gives insight into what influencer marketing is.  Copy and paste this link into your browser: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/influencer-marketing-somewhere-between-legal-illegal-ankit-agarwal

In August this year the Trade Ministry noted that 128 of the 138 files discussed in the August meeting of the Advertising Board were found to be in violation of the legislation and that a total administrative fine of 16.2 million liras, together with an advertising suspension penalty on the advertisements and commercial practices in question, was imposed.

The statement also said that the board decided to impose administrative sanctions on search engine results that are misleading to consumers.

“It has been evaluated that the price information in the result displayed as a result of a search on an online search engine and the price information on the website directly accessed through this result are different, therefore the search result in question is deceptive and misleading to consumers, and it has been decided to impose a suspension and administrative fine on advertisements and promotions that offer misleading price offers of the foreign company operating in the tourism sector,” it read. Ref: https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/

COVERT AND MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENTS WERE INSPECTED

Many areas of advertising and promotion were examined, from the promotions of social media influencers to food supplement and discount sales advertisements on digital platforms. In some posts, violations were detected, such as the presence of health claims, referrals to health services such as clinics, hospitals, doctors, promotion of products whose advertisements are prohibited, use of expressions that exceed the definition of cosmetic products, and inclusion of expressions contrary to legislation in supplementary food advertisements. Administrative fines were imposed on influencers who generated income through ‘covert advertising’, which is the situation where it is not clearly stated that the promotion of the product or service is an advertisement.

550 THOUSAND TL FINE PER PHENOMENON

The Advertising Board imposed administrative fines of 89 million 59 thousand 840 TL in the first 8 months of the year regarding advertisements and similar posts made through digital media, especially by influencers, which are known to have a significant impact on consumers’ consumption and behavior patterns. While the administrative fine imposed on an influencer who made an advertisement against the legislation last year was 347 thousand 128 TL, this amount was increased by the revaluation rate and became 550 thousand 59 TL in 2024.  Source:  https://www.haberler.com/

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