15 million TL fine for advertisements on social media

In the statement made by the Ministry of Commerce, it was noted that inspections of real estate and vehicle advertisements published on social media platforms continue uninterruptedly within the scope of the Electronic Ad Verification System (EIDS), which was implemented to prevent fake advertisements, advertisement pollution and consumer grievances.

In the statement, it was reminded that identity and authority verification is mandatory in real estate and vehicle advertisements published electronically, including Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and TikTok, and it was emphasized that in order to include photos, videos and descriptions in social media posts, the advertisement link verified through EIDS must be shared and the images and descriptions used must belong to the real estate or vehicle subject to the verified advertisement.

In the statement, it was reported that as a result of the investigations carried out by the Ministry of Commerce, a total administrative fine of 7 million lira was imposed on 70 real estate and auto gallery businesses that were found to have shared advertisements on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok platforms in violation of the legislation, and thus the number of businesses sanctioned in this context to date increased to 152 and the total administrative fine increased to 15.2 million lira.

In the statement, which stated that sanctions were also imposed on social media platforms, the following statements were made:

"An administrative fine of 20 million lira was imposed on Meta Platforms İstanbul Bilişim Hizmetleri Ltd. Şti., and 4 million lira was imposed on TikTok İstanbul Digital Media and Advertising Ltd. Şti., which was determined not to be integrated with EİDS and did not fulfill its identity verification obligations. The total amount of administrative fine applied to Meta Platforms İstanbul Bilişim Hizmetleri Ltd. Şti. in this context reached 36.2 million lira."

In the statement, it was stated that not including price information in real estate and vehicle advertisements published on social media platforms may lead to consumer grievances, and that the price information of the property or vehicle should also be included in the advertisement posts, and the following was noted:

"The Ministry of Commerce will continue to meticulously monitor real estate and vehicle advertisements published on social media platforms in order to protect consumers, prevent fake advertisements and advertisement pollution, and ensure transparency in the electronic commerce environment. In this context, it is important for real estate and auto gallery businesses to include the advertisement link and advertisement price information verified through EIDS in their social media posts in order to avoid administrative sanctions, and to show the necessary sensitivity to ensure that the visuals and descriptions shared belong to the real estate or vehicle subject to the verified advertisement."