Deputy of Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Ömer Fatih Sayan stated in his post on Twitter, “Social media companies of foreign origin that do not appoint official representatives will no longer receive advertisement payments from our country”.

An advertising ban that covers whole digital marketing practices is in place for providers of social networks such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter that have not yet opened a local representative office in Turkey.

Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have been informed that the advertisement ban deadline has expired on 19 January, with a fine of 40 million Turkish Lira each. If the social network providers plan to open a representative office, even after approximately 5 months, 75 percent of the fines levied before that date will be reduced.

What happens next?

Social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, have been required to designate at least one natural or juridical representative in Turkey and have been obliged to provide hosting in Turkey.

• If businesses do not appoint representatives, in April 2021 the bandwidth will be decreased by half and in May 2021 by 90%.
• Youtube, Dailymotion, Linkedin, VK, TikTok, and finally Facebook have announced today that they will designate representatives.
• Firms that are yet to appoint representatives are Twitter, Periscope, and Pinterest.

In this sense, companies and individuals who are taxpayers in Turkey would be prohibited from advertising on platforms that do not have a representative office, i.e.,  who are not subjected to pay tax in Turkey, with the release of this banning decision.

No commercial arrangements with these websites can be made with the advertising ban and these sites will not be paid for social media ads.

The post Digital Ads Ban starts for Social Media Networks in Turkey appeared first on CitizenNewsWire.

The organizations have 72 hours to apply for the mandatory licensing process, or risk the consequences of being banned. With that risk in mind, the local news reports of the notice has caused users of the services concern. They worry that their broadcasts could be blocked.

Turkey is a place that has already witnessed the banning of channels such as Wikipedia and YouTube. Therefore, the problem of temporarily not being able to access Spotify seems quite possible.

In the notice, TUK stated that, in compliance with Law No. 6112 on Radio and Television Establishment and Broadcasting Services, an offer was submitted for the licensing procedures to be completed within three months. They further demanded that these organizations should apply for their official licenses within 72 hours.

Provided that the companies pay the broadcasting license fee in advance within the specified period, they will be able to continue broadcast services for another 3 months while waiting for completion of the licensing process.

Spotify has reportedly submitted the license application. What’s more, the music streaming service has also agreed to open a registered Spotify office in Turkey.

The Law on the Control of Internet Broadcasts and the Battle Against Crimes Committed by these Broadcasts came into force as a new regulation as of October 1st in Turkey as well.

This legislation, which raises censorship concerns, mandates that all external social network providers, with a daily audience of more than 1 million, must establish representative offices inside the borders of Turkey. If they fail to comply, the blocking of access to these apps is anticipated.

Facebook and Instagram are among the most used social media platforms in Turkey. Neither platform has an official office in the country. As such, this law raises the question of whether will go through the same process, of face a ban of their service. As yet, Facebook has not made any official statements on this issue.

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