Ministry crackdown on influencer ads: 6 million 388 thousand TL in fines issued

The Advertising Board of the Ministry of Trade, which has been scrutinizing social media promotions, has decided to impose a total of 6 million 388 thousand 802 Turkish Lira in fines on 5 "influencers" last year and 11 in the first half of this year.

According to information obtained by an AA reporter, the Board, which operates under the Ministry of Trade, analyzed advertisements made through social media platforms.

The Advertising Self-Regulatory Board was tasked with auditing the activities of "influencers," referred to in legislation as "social media influencers," and the Project for Scanning Social Media Advertisements with Artificial Intelligence was launched in March 2022.

With the project, the rate of influencer posts failing to clearly and understandably state that they are advertisements dropped from 57 percent to 11 percent.

As a result of the work carried out by the Board, the number of applications regarding social media advertisements has also increased due to the rising awareness of consumers in recent times.

Consumer complaints were examined by experts, and those meeting the application requirements were taken into evaluation. In cases where the Board identified violations, necessary administrative sanctions were applied.

SANCTIONS ON 50 SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

The Board decided to impose 39 cease-and-desist orders and 11 cease-and-desist orders combined with administrative fines on influencers in the first 6 months of this year. With the cease-and-desist sanction, it was requested that advertisements carried out in violation of the legislation be corrected or removed.

Taking into account factors such as the unfair content of the post violating the legislation, its repetition, the size of the sphere of influence depending on the number of followers, and the benefits and economic status obtained by the influencers from the post, the Board also applied cease-and-desist orders and administrative fines together.

While the administrative fine applied to an influencer who made an advertisement in violation of the legislation was 347 thousand 128 Lira last year, this amount was increased by the revaluation rate to 550 thousand 59 Lira in 2024.

6 MILLION 388 THOUSAND TL IN FINES

Last year, 1 million 352 thousand 808 Lira in administrative fines were imposed on 5 influencers. In the first 6 months of this year, it was decided to impose 5 million 35 thousand 994 Lira in administrative fines on 11 influencers. Thus, a total of 6 million 388 thousand 802 Lira in fines were issued in the 1.5-year period.

While administrative sanctions were applied to a total of 77 social media accounts in 2023, this figure reached 50 in the first half of 2024. Administrative sanctions were applied on the grounds that posts made by influencers advertised a brand's product or service but did not clearly state that it was an advertisement, or that covert advertising was being conducted.

In addition to this, it was decided to impose administrative sanctions on some influencers for reasons such as the presence of expressions containing health claims in some posts, directing to health services such as clinics, hospitals, or doctors, promoting products for which advertising is prohibited, using expressions that exceed the definition of cosmetic products, and including expressions in violation of the legislation in food supplement advertisements.

News Source: 12punto