Turkish Competition Authority switches to AI-supported oversight in public tenders

The Turkish Competition Authority has begun using a new AI-supported infrastructure in its oversight processes to protect competition in public tenders and ensure the effective use of public resources.

According to statements by the Authority's President Birol Küle, the system aims to automatically identify suspicious activities that show similarities to anti-competitive behaviors by analyzing data related to public tenders.

At the foundation of the application lies a protocol signed in 2024 between the Competition Authority and the Public Procurement Authority (KİK). Within the scope of this cooperation, comprehensive data sets provided by the KİK are being examined using artificial intelligence algorithms and statistical modeling tools developed by the Competition Authority.

The system will be able to monitor potential violations and risks by performing structural and behavioral analyses on the tender data of enterprises. Thus, it is aimed to uncover signals regarding actions that limit competition earlier and more rapidly.

The AI-supported infrastructure is expected to be used particularly in detecting practices such as the sharing of tenders among companies, collusive price bidding, market allocation, and the submission of collusive cover bids.

It is also stated that situations such as the exchange of competition-sensitive information between enterprises or the failure to submit bids for a tender in accordance with an agreement can be identified through algorithmic analysis during the Authority's oversight process.

News Source: 12punto