- within Litigation and Mediation & Arbitration topic(s)
The Advertising Board ruled that sending campaign and advertising notifications through a mobile application without obtaining user consent, and without allowing users to opt out, constitutes a restriction on consumers' freedom of choice and ordered the suspension of such practices.
The Advertising Board under the Ministry of Trade ("The Board") continues to closely monitor commercial practices that consumers encounter on digital platforms. In its July meeting, the Board reviewed a case concerning the notification practices of an online marketplace's mobile application.
During its review, the Board observed that the mobile application included a "Notification Preferences" section offering only "E-mail," "SMS," and "Phone Call" options. Despite users disabling all of these channels, campaign and advertising notifications continued to be sent through the application. It was further observed that in-app notifications could only be turned off through the device settings, which meant that users wishing to receive order or delivery updates were also exposed to promotional messages.
The Board concluded that these practices negatively affect consumers' ability to make free and informed choices, are misleading and deceptive in nature, and constitute unfair commercial practices. Accordingly, the Board ordered the suspension of these practices.
The decision highlights the Board's firm commitment to protecting consumer choice in the field of digital marketing.
You may access the decision numbered 2024/4177, published in the press release of the Board meeting dated July 10, 2025 and numbered 359, via this link, the Regulation on Commercial Advertisements and Unfair Commercial Practices via this link, and the Law on the Protection of Consumers No. 6502 via this link. (Only Available in Turkish)
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