Ministry imposes fines on digital platforms and internet providers

The Ministry of Trade has imposed 24 million 192 thousand lira in fines on digital platforms and internet service providers that have caused grievances for consumers.

In a statement from the Ministry, it was reported that an investigation was launched into companies providing internet service and digital platforms offering personalized content services such as movies, series, documentaries, comedy, and sports, in order to protect consumer interests.

The statement noted that inspections identified practices contrary to regulations, such as demanding payment from consumers for services not actually provided by digital platforms and internet service providers, making changes to contract terms to the detriment of the consumer within the commitment period, failing to provide services of the promised quality, failing to fulfill subscription cancellation requests within the required time, and issuing invoices to consumers who did not benefit from any service.

Highlighting the grievances caused to consumers, the statement included the following: "Fines totaling 24 million 192 thousand lira were imposed on digital platform and internet service provider companies. By monitoring the compliance of companies in the digital broadcasting sector with regulations, we continue our efforts to both protect the interests of citizens and ensure consumer satisfaction."

187.4 MILLION LIRA IN FINES FOR UNFAIR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES IN 9 MONTHS

The statement also reported that in the first 9 months of this year, the Ministry imposed 448.7 million lira in fines on 159 companies due to contracts involving consumers, and noted the following:

"Due to advertising and unfair commercial practice inspections, 187.4 million lira in fines were imposed on 14 thousand 829 companies; 19.5 million lira on 5 thousand 883 companies within the scope of market surveillance and inspection activities (product safety); and 201.5 million lira on 179 thousand 217 companies as a result of inspections carried out by provincial directorates under the relevant law, totaling 857.1 million lira in administrative fines on 200 thousand 88 companies."