Ministry of Trade takes action: Million-lira fines for those saying 'DM for price' on social media

The Ministry of Trade has imposed administrative fines on businesses where non-compliance with regulations was detected during inspections of vehicle and real estate advertisements posted on social media. As part of the inspections, a total of 8.2 million lira in sanctions were decided for 42 real estate agencies and 40 car dealerships.

According to the report on CNN Türk, the ministry reminded that the identity and authorization verification requirement under the Electronic Advertisement Verification System (EİDS) is not limited to advertisement websites; it is valid for all electronic advertisement posts, including Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp.

The phrase “DM for price,” frequently used in recent social media advertisements, was also at the center of the inspections. According to the regulations, advertisements must include not only a verified advertisement link but also clear price information.

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ARE ALSO CONSIDERED ADVERTISEMENTS

Experts point out that real estate and dealership businesses must legally consider their promotional posts on social media accounts as advertisements. Therefore, hiding price information in posts, failing to perform authorization verification, or using images that could mislead consumers creates a risk of sanctions.

Real estate lawyer Murat Tezcan stated that three main headings have come to the fore for businesses in the new era, saying, “Accurate advertisement, clear price, and EİDS compliance are essential.”

Emphasizing that social media posts should also be treated as advertisements, Tezcan said, “Real estate agents now have to look at social media posts as advertisements from a legal perspective. They have to think about it this way.”

It is stated that if misleading images or advertisement links belonging to different properties are used, access restrictions on social media accounts may be considered in addition to monetary fines.