Ministry of Trade imposes fines on social media advertisements

In a statement made by the Ministry of Trade, it was announced that an administrative fine totaling 7 million liras was imposed on 70 businesses determined to have shared real estate and vehicle advertisements contrary to regulations on social media platforms. Additionally, Meta Platforms İstanbul Bilişim Hizmetleri Ltd. Şti. and TikTok İstanbul Dijital Medya ve Reklam Ltd. Şti. were fined 20 million liras and 4 million liras, respectively, for failing to fulfill their obligations.

The Ministry of Trade continues its inspections regarding real estate and vehicle advertisements published in electronic environments in order to prevent fake advertisements, advertisement pollution, and consumer grievances. It was reminded that identity and authorization verification is mandatory for advertisements in electronic environments, including Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp, and TikTok. It was emphasized that in order to share posts, a verified advertisement link through EİDS must be shared, and the visuals and descriptions must match the asset in the verified advertisement one-to-one.

During the Ministry inspections, 70 real estate and auto gallery businesses identified as sharing rule-violating advertisements via Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok were fined 7 million liras. With these sanctions, the number of businesses fined within this scope reached 152, and the total fines imposed reached 15.2 million liras. While Meta, which is not integrated into EİDS and failed to fulfill its obligations, was issued an administrative fine of 20 million liras and TikTok was fined 4 million liras, Meta's total fines within this scope reached 36.2 million liras.

Stating that the absence of price information in social media advertisements can lead to consumer grievances, the Ministry reported that the sales price must be clearly stated. Noting that inspections will continue, businesses were urged to show sensitivity to EİDS verification, advertisement pricing, and the use of accurate visuals to avoid facing criminal sanctions.