AMENDMENTS ON COMMERCIAL ADVERTISING AND UNFAIR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES
The Regulation on the Amendment of the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices No. 31737 published and enacted in the Official Gazette dated 1 February 2022 and numbered 31384 and the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices ("Regulation") have been amended by the Ministry of Trade ("Ministry"). While making significant changes regarding commercial advertising and unfair commercial practices within the scope of the above mentioned Regulation, some obligations have been imposed on the seller, service provider, intermediary service provider and complaint platforms and steps have been taken to protect consumers.
The line headings related to the amendments made in the Regulation are as follows:
Advertisements with Personalized Price Information
Advertisements containing personalized prices determined based on consumer habits and other personal data of the consumer regarding a good or service should also include up-to-date price information about the relevant good or service.
Sale Advertisements
While determining the sales price of a good or service before the discount, the lowest price applied within thirty days before the discount shall be applied, on the other hand, while calculating the amount or rate of the discount in advertisements for perishable goods such as fruits and vegetables, the price before the discounted price shall be taken as the basis. The burden of proof regarding these issues shall be borne by the advertiser.
Advertisements Related to Financial Services
In advertisements where it is mentioned that a good or service is offered for sale with a tied loan, the maturity of the loan, interest rate, monthly and annual percentage value of the total cost to the consumer and repayment conditions are included in the area where the advertisement is published or on a website or a screen where consumers can get detailed information via being directed with a link or warning sign.
Ranking Applications
It shall be an obligation to inform consumers about the criteria taken into account in the ranking of goods and services offered for sale on the internet and to include advertising in the rankings based on the advertising or sponsorship relationship.
Consumer Reviews
Evaluation of the goods or services subject to sale made on the internet shall be made only by the persons who purchase the relevant goods or services. Evaluations shall be published according to an objective criterion for at least 1 year and if they are not allowed to be published, the consumer making the relevant evaluation shall be informed immediately.
Consumer evaluations containing health claims contrary to the legislation shall not be published. However, in cases where consumer victimization is eliminated, this shall be published without delay in the same place as the initial assessment. However, no agreement can be made with real or legal persons regarding the use of expressions that increase the sale of goods or services and no service can be purchased.
Applications Regarding the Publication of Consumer Complaints
Vendors or providers who are evaluated shall be given at least 72 hours to respond and explain before the reviews are published, and shall not be published before that time or if it is understood that the reviews do not reflect the truth.
Deceptive Commercial Practices
The act of increasing the price unfairly, even though it is not affected by the foreign exchange price, will no longer be counted as deceptive commercial practice. However, within the scope of the changes made, using a software that automates the purchasing process, purchasing the event tickets outside the determined limits and offering them to consumers at a higher price and using methods that negatively affect the will of the consumer through tools such as router interface designs, options or expressions in e-commerce or aiming to cause changes in the decision of the consumer in favor of the seller under normal conditions will be considered as deceptive commercial practice.
In addition to all these, it has been regulated by the Advertising Board that guidelines for protecting the consumer against commercial advertising and unfair commercial practices shall be prepared and published on the Ministry's website and shall be implemented together with the Regulation.
As can be understood from the above-mentioned changes, important steps have been taken by the Ministry regarding the protection of consumers against unfair commercial practices and advertisements. Within the scope of the Regulation, fundamental obligations have also been imposed on the seller, service provider, intermediary service provider and complaint platforms. For this reason, it is necessary to carry out the activities in accordance with the Regulation in order to prevent any victimization especially for companies engaged in commercial advertising and e-commerce activities.