Media and Advertising Law

The matters we handle within the framework of the Press Law No. 5187, the Law No. 6112 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and Their Broadcasting Services, and the commercial advertising provisions of Law No. 6502:

• Infringement of personality rights through the press and compensation actions
• Exercise of the right of correction and reply
• Legislation on radio, television and on-demand broadcasting services
• Proceedings before the broadcasting authority, administrative sanctions and annulment actions
• Internet broadcasting and the liability of news websites
• Disputes arising from social media publications
• The right to be forgotten and requests for removal from search results
• Content removal and access-blocking applications
• Offences committed through the press and criminal liability arising from publications
• Obligations of honesty and accuracy in commercial advertising
• Unfair and misleading advertising and comparative advertising
• Decisions of the Advertising Board and annulment actions against them
• Labelling obligations in social media influencer advertising
• Product placement and sponsorship agreements
• Disputes arising from the use of trademarks and intellectual property in advertising

In our work in this field, the Press Law No. 5187, the Law No. 6112 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and Their Broadcasting Services, the Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection, the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices and the relevant special rules are taken into account. We provide legal support to advertisers, agencies, broadcasters, producers, digital platforms, social media influencers and persons affected by published content.

Within the scope of advertising law, the legal review of campaigns before publication is among our services. Television, radio, outdoor, website, marketplace, mobile application, e-mail and social media advertisements are examined together with the campaign brief, sales pages, price records, contracts, visual materials and actual practice, so that inconsistencies between the advertising message and the product or service actually offered to the consumer can be identified before the campaign is published.

Influencer, brand ambassador and content production agreements are prepared and reviewed with respect to the number of posts, channels, publication schedule, advertising disclosure, content approval, work with competitors, crisis situations, the duration of image use, intellectual property rights and removal obligations. Following the amendments that entered into force on 1 August 2026, obligations concerning targeted advertising, social media promotion and advertisements created using artificial intelligence are also assessed.

In media matters, the balance between freedom of expression and the press on the one hand and personality rights, private life, commercial reputation and the protection of personal data on the other is assessed according to the circumstances of each case. The right of correction and reply, platform notifications, interim injunctions, compensation claims and criminal complaints are evaluated separately, since each is subject to different conditions.

Production, broadcasting, sponsorship and licence agreements, the use of trademarks, copyright works, music, photographs, images and personal data, proceedings before the Advertising Board and the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK), as well as unfair competition and commercial disparagement claims, also fall within our field of practice.

Among the disputes most frequently encountered in practice are superiority claims such as "the best", "number one", "free", "unlimited" or "environmentally friendly" used without a measurable and current basis, misleading or comparative advertisements, price and discount presentations, and influencer posts whose advertising nature is not clearly apparent. A footnote in small print does not in every case remove the misleading character of the main message.

In Advertising Board examinations, the fact that a campaign was prepared in good faith does not in itself constitute a sufficient defence. The publication date, channel, target audience, the basis of the claim used and the conditions offered to the consumer must be documented. The suspension or amendment of the advertisement under examination does not automatically end liability under private law or the rules on unfair competition.

In press and internet publications, untrue news, violations of private life, the unauthorised use of image or voice, the disclosure of personal data and attacks on commercial reputation may give rise to different legal consequences. For the publisher or journalist, the source of the news, its currency, the public interest, the language used and whether the view of the person concerned was included are of importance. Negative content is not in itself a ground for removal.

Disputes arising from production and sponsorship relationships frequently concern the chain of rights, the scope of use, rebroadcasting, social media excerpts, archive use, name and image rights, music licences and post-termination use. Where the chain of rights is not established before the project begins, requests for content removal or additional licence fees may arise after publication.

In advertising matters, the process begins not only with the final design but with the examination of the campaign brief, the basis for the claims, price records, product features, contracts and the manner of implementation. In media disputes, the publication as a whole, its source, timing, the audience it reached and the existing evidence are assessed together.

Since digital content may be deleted, altered or republished on different accounts within a short time, the URL, account name, publication time, screen recordings, content links and, where possible, access data are preserved before any application is made. A single screenshot is not always sufficient to prove the source of the content and the duration of publication.

The appropriate remedy is then determined. The platform application that may produce the quickest result and the action or administrative application that will resolve the underlying dispute may not be the same route. A standard removal notice is not sent without the content having been reviewed, and the reputational and compensation risks of an unfounded application against content falling within the right to criticise are also taken into account.

In Advertising Board and RTÜK proceedings, responses to requests for information and documents are prepared, defences are drafted together with the campaign records and corrective actions, and the remedies available against the resulting administrative acts are assessed. In litigation, petitions, evidence and hearings are closely monitored. The client is regularly informed about the stages of the process, the possible risks and the legal remedies that may be pursued.