Changes to advertising regulation from the Ministry of Trade: New rules for AI-generated ads

The Ministry of Trade has introduced amendments to the "Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices" in order to more effectively protect consumers, who are exposed to an increasing number of advertisements and announcements due to digitalization, against deceptive advertising.

The new Regulation regarding these changes was published in the Official Gazette numbered 33297 on 01.07.2026. With these regulations, new rules have been introduced to protect consumers in many areas, ranging from targeted advertising to AI-generated ads, and from promotions made through social media influencers to discount sales advertisements.

Regulations have been introduced regarding targeted advertising practices, where consumer online behavior and personal data are analyzed to present specific advertising content to certain individuals or groups. Accordingly, advertisers will be able to carry out such advertising practices provided that they offer consumers direct and easily accessible information regarding which criteria were used to display the advertisement to the consumer and how these criteria can be changed.

With the amendment, targeted advertising to children using profiling methods based on personal data has been prohibited.

Furthermore, in posts made by social media influencers, it has become mandatory to use terms such as "advertisement" or "promotion" in a way that clearly allows the advertising nature of the post to be understood in cases where any benefit is obtained through earnings, discounted products or services, or participation in an event.

Conditional sales advertisements that link the provision of a discount or other benefit to consumers to a condition will also be subject to the rules regarding discount sales advertisements. In discount sales advertisements, the lowest price applied in the last ten days before the start date of the discount may be presented as the pre-discount price by crossing it out. For advertisements regarding perishable goods such as fruits and vegetables, as well as services, the price immediately preceding the discounted price will be taken as the basis.

Advertising ban on illegal betting and gambling expanded

The advertising ban on services provided by fortune tellers, mediums, astrologers, and the like, as well as illegal betting and gambling, has been expanded to include illegal games of chance. These regulations, which will enter into force on August 1, 2026, will ensure more effective protection for our consumers.

Response time for consumer complaints reduced

The seventy-two-hour period granted to sellers or providers to exercise their right to make a statement or respond before the publication of consumer complaints has been reduced to forty-eight hours. If no response is provided within this period, the reviews will be published directly.

Regulation for AI-generated advertisements

In cases where digital characters that cannot be distinguished from humans are used in advertisements using artificial intelligence technologies, it will be mandatory to state this clearly, understandably, and distinguishably. Furthermore, it is prohibited to create advertisements where a digital copy of a real person, created using artificial intelligence technologies, gives the impression that they have personally experienced a good or service or provides a recommendation.

In advertisements containing environmental claims, the use of general concepts and terms such as "eco-friendly" without explanation has been prohibited. It has become mandatory to specify which stage of the life cycle of the goods or services the environmental claims relate to. Additionally, certificates and approvals mentioned in advertisements containing environmental claims must be proven with documents obtained from authorized institutions and organizations, relevant departments of universities, or accredited or independent research, testing, and evaluation organizations.

New regulations regarding food supplements

It is prohibited to advertise food supplements in a way that creates the impression that they replace foods consumed within the scope of a normal diet. These products may be subject to comparative advertising, except for matters falling within the scope of health claims.

A provision has been added to the Regulation stating that academic titles cannot be used in a misleading or deceptive manner in commercial advertisements and announcements to prevent the exploitation of consumers' lack of knowledge and experience.

New criteria for consumer reviews

Consumer reviews obtained from channels where it is not possible to verify the purchasing process cannot be published. Furthermore, in cases where reviews are published separately under different headings such as goods, services, delivery, seller, or provider, it will be mandatory to include all these reviews in the same area in a clear, understandable, distinguishable, and easily accessible manner.

News Source: 12punto