Advertising Board Press Release March 2024
The Advertising Board (‘Board’) publishes its evaluations on advertisements made on platforms such as social media, websites, etc. through Press Bulletins every month, and imposes sanctions such as administrative fines and suspension of such advertisements.
The 343rd Press Bulletin (‘Bulletin’) of the Advertising Board, published in March 2024, consists of 134 decisions and various topics such as communication services, durable consumer goods and technology, cosmetics and cleaning products, unfair commercial practices, and disguised advertising. The Bulletin draws attention to the fact that many e-commerce platforms with large volumes in the sector have been sanctioned by the Board. In this review, we have tried to include the decisions of the most well-known e-commerce platforms in the sector, which have been sanctioned within the scope of unfair commercial practices and targeted advertising processes.
SANCTIONED E-COMMERCE PLATFORMS
E-Commerce Platforms Imposed Administrative Fines
In the examination before the Board due to the campaign advertisements in the mobile application of Getir; ‘Half of Selected Ice Cream and Snacks are on Us! For your 100 TL order. Good news of the day! Half of your 100 TL snack and ice cream order is on us!”, but it was determined that although the order was created according to the campaign conditions, it was not benefited from the promised discount.
As a justification for this situation, the company stated that the minimum basket amount on the campaign date was 75 TL in low and medium segment warehouses and 100 TL in high segment warehouses for some regions. However, it has been determined that this information is not included on the main page of the campaign and among the conditions of the campaign, and therefore the advertisements in question do not reflect the truth, on the other hand, although the start and end dates of the discounted sales campaign in the mobile application in question should be specified, it has been determined that these issues are not specified in the advertisements in question. In the light of these reasons, it has been assessed that the aforementioned advertisements are misleading to consumers and contrary to the principles of fair competition, and the Board imposed an administrative fine of TRY 347,128 on the advertiser Getir Perakende Lojistik Anonim Şirketi and a suspension of the aforementioned advertisements due to the violation of the provisions of the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices (‘Regulation’) and the Law No. 6502 on the Protection of Consumers (‘Law’).
In the examination before the Board regarding the discounted product promotion advertisements on the website of Avva; when the applicant consumer searched for ‘White Shirt’ on the ‘Google’ search engine, it was seen that the product named ‘White Plain Classic Collar Slim Fit Shirt’ was offered on the website of the company with a sales price of ‘31,99 TL’, but when the link image was clicked, the phrase ‘The product is out of stock. ‘, although the product in question is not currently being sold, the product is directed to the company’s website by offering the product at a more affordable price compared to the prices of similar products, so the price in the product promotions does not reflect the reality, in addition, if there is a period or stock limit regarding the validity of the price in the product promotions, the information in question is not included, ’If there is a period or stock limit regarding the validity of the price, this period and stock amount are clearly stated in the advertisements. ‘ It has been determined that the legislation provision in the form of ’ has been violated. It was assessed that the advertisements in question were deceptive and misleading to consumers, and the Board imposed an administrative fine of 128 TL and a suspension of the aforementioned advertisements on the advertiser Avva E-Ticaret Anonim Şirketi due to the violation of the provisions of the Regulation and the Law.
In the Board’s examination of the campaign product advertisements promoted on the website of İncehesap; In the advertisement published on 19.11.2023, ‘Asus TUF Gaming VG279Q1R 1ms 144Hz FreeSync Premium IPS Full HD Gaming (Player) Monitor 4.999,00 TL’ and ‘3 hours left until the end of the campaign! When the campaign ends, the price of the product will be 10.331,17 TL”, but on 20.11.2023, the price of the product in question was presented as 5.399,00 TL and ’Discount opportunity until 30.11.2023! When the campaign ends, the price of the product will be 10.331,17 TL”, and it has been determined that the advertisements in question, which state that a product will be offered only under certain conditions within a very limited period of time in order to deprive the consumer of the opportunity or time to make a sudden decision and to make an informed choice, are considered to be deceptive and misleading to consumers. In this context, it has been decided that the promotions subject to the review are contrary to the provisions of the Regulation and the Law, and the advertiser İncehesap Sanal Mağazacılık Ticaret Anonim Şirketi was imposed an administrative fine of 128 TL and the aforementioned advertisements were suspended.
E-Commerce Platforms that are Penalised for Suspending Advertisements and Applications
In the Board’s examination of the promotional advertisements made for the website of Amazon; it was stated that the title of the website https://www.amazon.com.tr/, which was included in the search results with the phrase ‘Paid Sponsored Advertisement’ in the search results made through the Google search engine with the phrase ‘Netflix’, included the phrases ‘Netflix – Online shopping – Everything you are looking for’, in addition, consumers who clicked on the said title were directed to the website https://www.amazon.com.tr/, although the advertiser company stated that the phrases in the said promotions may have emerged due to the sale of ‘Netflix’ branded products on Amazon Turkey’s website.
However, when the issues of associating another video streaming platform with Netflix in the advertisement image and the advertiser offering the video streaming service in question, and the fact that it is the advertiser’s responsibility to select the keywords offered by the media organisation in the promotions made through the Google system or to determine the keywords and titles entered by the advertiser and to enter them into the system are evaluated together, it has been evaluated that the advertisements in question are misleading to consumers, and it has been decided to impose a penalty on the advertiser Amazon Turkey Perakende Hizmetleri Ltd. Şti. to stop the aforementioned advertisements since the promotions subject to the review are contrary to the provisions of the Regulation and the Law.
In another review conducted on Amazon; in the process of purchasing the products offered for sale on the company’s website by consumers, consumers were offered the options of ‘Log In’ and ‘Create Your Amazon Account’ without any different options, and in the process of creating an account to purchase products, consumers were informed that ‘When you create an account, you agree to Amazon’s Terms of Use and Terms of Sale. For more information…you can review Interest-Based Promotions.”, consumers are forced to accept targeted advertising,
Therefore, it has been determined that consumers are not given a choice as to whether or not to accept targeted advertising using their interactions with the content or services, in this case, the commercial practice in question with the above-mentioned design negatively affects the will of consumers to make a decision or choice and consumers are not clearly informed, and this situation leads to changes in favour of the company.
It has been evaluated that the consumers are not given the opportunity not to leave any trace on the platform after purchasing the product, that it is not sufficient to eliminate the contradiction by ensuring that consumers exit the condition in a more difficult way than accepting the targeted advertising condition, and that in order to realise the said application, consumers should be ensured to accept targeted advertising by obtaining their explicit consent at the membership stage. Since the commercial practices subject to the review are contrary to the provisions of the Regulation and the Law, it has been decided to impose a penalty on Amazon Turkey Perakende Hizmetleri Ltd. Şti. to stop the aforementioned commercial practices and to correct the practice subject to the review to include the above-mentioned issues.
In the Board’s examination of the product promotion advertisement on Hepsiburada’s website; it was evaluated that the delivery date information was included in the product promotions named ‘Honor 90 512 GB 12 GB Ram’ on the company’s website, but the delivery date was changed after the consumer purchased the product and this situation was considered to be misleading to consumers, and it was decided to impose a penalty to stop the aforementioned advertisements on the advertiser D-Market Elektronik Hizmetler ve Ticaret A. Ş. due to the violation of the provisions of the Regulation and the Law.
In the Board’s examination of the discounted product advertisement offered for sale on Trendyol’s website and mobile application; the relevant product was offered for sale on 29.11.2023 at 9.779 TL with the phrase ‘Lowest Price of the Last 30 Days’ and the sales price before the discount was stated as 9.972 TL, but the actual date on which the product was offered for sale at 9.779 TL was 10.11.2023, therefore, while calculating the lowest price of the ‘Last 30 Days’ in the price change table presented to consumers, the price change date of 10. 11.2023, therefore, the ‘Lowest Price of the Last 30 Days’ for the product in question could not be proved, therefore, it has been determined that a discount perception has been created before the average consumer and a perception of price advantage has been created for the products, and it has been evaluated that the said promotions do not reflect the truth and are deceptive and misleading.
Due to the aforementioned advertisements, which were found to be contrary to the provisions of the Regulation and the Law, it was decided to impose a fine on the advertiser Dsm Grup Danışmanlık İletişim ve Satış Ticaret A.Ş. to stop the aforementioned advertisements.
In the Board’s examination of the unfair commercial practices on Deichmann’s website; in the process of purchasing by consumers, ‘Member Login’ and ‘New Member’ options are offered to consumers without any different options, in the process of creating an account to purchase the products, consumers are required to provide personal information such as ‘gender’ to the company, although it is not necessary for the delivery of the products, however, when consumers create an account to purchase the products, they accept the condition ‘I approve the data protection statement. *’ and in the Annex-4 part of the said text, it is stated that ’While carrying out the commercial activities of our company, the promotion and marketing of our company’s products and services … … parties with whom it has established a business partnership for such purposes”, in this context, the company has not obtained the explicit consent of the consumer regarding whether the personal data of the consumers obtained by the company by using their interactions with the Deichmann site during the process of becoming a member of “Deichmann” are used for marketing purposes, In this case, with the above-mentioned design, it has been determined that the commercial practice in question negatively affects the will of consumers to make a decision or choice and that consumers are not clearly informed, that this situation leads to changes in favour of the company, and that the consumer is not given the opportunity to leave no trace on the platform after purchasing the product.
In addition, while the company offers consumers the option to easily become a member, consumers are not informed about the unsubscribe method and consumers are not given the opportunity to terminate their relationship with the website in question and therefore with the company, for these reasons, it has been evaluated that the commercial practice in question is misleading and contrary to the principles of fair competition. In this context, since the commercial practices subject to the review are contrary to the provisions of the Regulation and the Law, it has been decided to impose a penalty of suspension of the aforementioned commercial practices on Deichmann Ayakkabıcılık Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti. and to correct the practice subject to the review to include the above-mentioned issues.
In the Board’s examination regarding the unfair commercial practices on the website of İdefix ‘Login’, ‘Become a Member’ and ‘Continue without Becoming a Member’ options are offered to consumers during the process of purchasing the products by consumers, when the ‘Continue without Becoming a Member’ option is preferred, the ‘Verify Your E-Mail Address’ button must be clicked, the ‘İdefix Membership Clarification Text’ box must be checked in the continuation of the process, in the ‘İdefix Membership Clarification Text’, ‘if you consent to sending commercial electronic messages to you, advertisements and promotional content can be sent through communication channels in line with your consent; your address information can be used to send your orders to our customers within the scope of product and/or service supply (…) )”, “Your favourite list and alarm list, which are evaluated in the category of ”Other information; your favourite list and alarm list, to be able to carry out studies within the scope of advertising activities to be carried out for your interests and likes, to be able to communicate discounts and campaigns for products that are suitable for your interests and likes to you (…. ) purposes”, targeted advertising and marketing practices are obliged to be accepted, and in this context, the company does not offer consumers an option whether or not to accept targeted advertising and marketing practices carried out by using interactions with the website, content or services during the process of becoming a member and shopping without membership, As such, it has been assessed that the commercial practice in question negatively affects the will of consumers to make a decision or choice and that consumers are not clearly informed, the consumer is not given the opportunity to leave no trace on the platform after purchasing the product, and in order to carry out the said practice, consumers should be ensured to accept targeted advertising by obtaining their explicit consent at the membership stage.
Since the commercial practices subject to the review are contrary to the provisions of the Regulation and the Law, Turkuvaz Müzik Kitap Mağazacılık Paz. A.Ş. and it has been decided to correct the practice subject to review to include the above-mentioned issues.
When the process of purchasing the products offered for sale on English Home’s website by consumers was evaluated by the Board, it was decided that ‘Login’ and ‘Become a Member’ options were offered to consumers, and during the process of becoming a member, consumers were given the option of ‘I give my consent to be informed about special opportunities and campaigns via e-mail. …’ box is presented, in the “membership agreement” that consumers are obliged to accept in order to complete the account creation phase, it is determined that the commercial message approval for promotions is obtained from consumers within the membership agreement, while the commercial message approval for promotions is presented as an option during the membership phase, this approval is also included in the membership agreement, and this design, which has become an obligation for consumers, and the commercial practice in question negatively affects the will of consumers to make a decision or choice, and consumers are misleadingly informed, and this situation leads to changes in favour of the company.
It has been evaluated that the said commercial practice is misleading and contrary to the principles of fair competition, and since the commercial practices subject to the review are contrary to the provisions of the Regulation and the Law, EHM Mağazacılık San. ve Tic. A. Ş. was sentenced to stop the aforementioned commercial practices.
When the process of purchasing the products offered for sale on the Kitapsepeti website by consumers is evaluated by the Board; consumers are not offered the option of ‘Continue without Membership’ and only ‘Member Login’ and ‘Quick Membership’ options are included, in the process of creating an account to purchase products, consumers must accept the ‘Membership Agreement’ and ‘KVKK Agreement’, and in the content of the agreements, ‘(…). )To follow up the request and complaint processes, to provide communication, to make the necessary notifications, to carry out profiling, advertising, promotion, marketing, campaign and information activities, to fulfil the approval processes within the scope of the message management system, to provide customer service, to ensure customer satisfaction, for the purposes of proof obligation as evidence in legal disputes… ‘, in this context, the company does not offer consumers an option as to whether or not to accept targeted advertising and marketing practices by using their interactions with the website, content or services during the membership process, in this way, the commercial practice in question negatively affects the will of consumers to make a decision or choice and consumers are not clearly informed, The consumer is not given the opportunity not to leave a trace on the platform after purchasing the product, in order to be able to carry out this application, it is necessary to ensure that consumers accept targeted advertising by obtaining their explicit consent at the membership stage, on the other hand, in the content of the ‘Membership Agreement’ regarding membership cancellation ‘Membership cancellation and account deletion can be done by the user by kitapsepeti. 1 Although there is the phrase ‘can be done via ticaret.com.com.’, it has been evaluated that there is no guidance or option for membership cancellation other than providing an internet address that is not valid for membership cancellation, and that membership cancellation should be made in the same or similar way as the membership registration phase, which is easily accessible to consumers. Therefore, since the commercial practices subject to the review are contrary to the provisions of the Regulation and the Law, it has been decided to impose a penalty on Point İnternet Teknolojileri ve Lojistik A.Ş., which is engaged in commercial practices, to suspend the aforementioned commercial practices and to correct the practice subject to the review to include the above-mentioned issues.
GRC LEGAL Comment:
When we examine the Bulletin decisions, it is seen that the Board imposed various sanctions on various e-commerce companies’ advertisements that mislead consumers and violate the principles of fair competition, as well as discount sales advertisements within the scope of advertising and promotion activities.
The advertising practices carried out by e-commerce companies in order to attract potential customers and customers, to increase interest and to be the focal point are among the primary tools used by the relevant companies in order to generate higher revenues. In addition, since the Board, which has been on the agenda with its active attitude in recent periods, has imposed deterrent sanctions on companies that carry out activities contrary to the consumer legislation, it is important for e-commerce companies as well as each company carrying out advertising activities to complete the process of compliance with the consumer legislation, which aims to prevent consumers from being victimised and to eliminate unfair competition in the market.
In addition to this, another noteworthy point in the decisions published in the Bulletin is that the Board, in its decisions on İdefix, Kitapsepeti and Deichmann, has also introduced evaluations that touch the field of Personal Data Protection Law such as data minimisation, obtaining explicit consent within the scope of targeted advertising. The relevant practices, which are accepted as unlawful personal data processing activities within the scope of personal data protection law, were evaluated by the Board as misleading and contrary to the principles of fair competition on the grounds that they negatively affect the consumers’ will to make a decision or choice and that the consumers are misleadingly informed.
Accordingly, it would not be wrong to state that the Board adopted a multidisciplinary approach by addressing cross-cutting issues on the horizontal axis. This situation can be considered as a positive step for the more effective implementation of the regulations that the actors in the digital ecosystem are obliged to comply with, and it can be said that, thanks to these sanctions, companies will take a step further in terms of the importance they attach to regulations in terms of designing and executing the processes in digital environments in accordance with the law.
