New rules introduced to combat misleading advertising

ANKARA

New regulations aimed at strengthening consumer protection against misleading advertising have entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette, the Trade Ministry announced.

The measures introduce stricter rules for digital advertising, influencer marketing, artificial intelligence-generated content and environmental claims.

Under the new framework, advertisers using targeted advertising based on consumers’ online behavior and personal data must explain why users are shown specific advertisements and how those targeting criteria can be changed. Targeted advertising based on profiling is now prohibited for children.

Social media influencers are also required to clearly label sponsored posts as advertisements or promotions whenever they receive payment, discounted products or other benefits.

The rules tighten transparency requirements for discount campaigns by requiring retailers to use the lowest price applied during the 10 days before a promotion as the reference price. For perishable goods and services, the immediately preceding price will be used instead.

The regulations also address the growing use of artificial intelligence in advertising. AI-generated digital characters that are indistinguishable from real people must be clearly identified, while advertisements using AI-generated replicas of real individuals to falsely imply they have endorsed or personally used a product or service are prohibited.

Broad environmental claims such as “environmentally friendly” may no longer be used without explanation. Advertisers must specify what the claim refers to and support environmental certifications with evidence from authorized or accredited institutions.

The ministry also reduced the time businesses have to respond to consumer complaints before publication from 72 hours to 48 hours.

In addition, advertisements promoting illegal betting and games of chance have been further restricted, while misleading use of academic titles and unverifiable consumer reviews in commercial advertising has been banned.