TCA's Sahibinden – Otobid Decision: From Interim Measures To Commitments

REFERENCE: Turkish Competition Authority, Sahibinden Bilgi Teknolojileri Pazarlama ve Ticaret AŞ (Interim Measures), Case No. 25-02/47-29, Decision, 16 January 2025; and Announcement on the Acceptance of Commitments, 15 January 2026

On 16 January 2025, the Turkish Competition Authority ("TCA") initiated an investigation against Sahibinden Bilgi Teknolojileri Pazarlama ve Ticaret A.Ş. ("Company") under Article 6 of the Act No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition ("Competition Act")¹. On the same day, the TCA also imposed interim measures, citing the risk of irreparable harm in the relevant digital markets pending the completion of the investigation. Nearly one year later, on 15 January 2026, the TCA announced through a public press release that the investigation had been terminated following the acceptance of the commitments submitted by the Company².

Taken together, the interim measures and the subsequent commitments, as well as the assessments set out in these decisions, provide insight into how the TCA approaches vertically integrated digital platforms. Moreover, the case illustrates the limits that may be imposed when a dominant undertaking expands into adjacent markets through data flows and platform design.

Background and TCA's Concerns in the Case

The process was initiated following two complaints alleging that the Company had abused its dominant position in the online second-hand vehicle listing markets by leveraging it into the adjacent online second-hand vehicle trading market and requesting the imposition of interim measures. In its decision on the request for interim measures, the TCA first reviewed the allegations in the complaints and assessed whether interim measures were necessary.

As part of the assessment, the TCA began by defining the relevant markets as the "market for online platform services for corporate members' vehicle sales activities" and the "market for online platform services for individual members' vehicle sales activities". TCA then conducted a dominance assessment, referring to its previous decisions in which the Company had already been found dominant in these markets, and updated its analysis by incorporating 2024 market data. In doing so, the TCA examined indicators such as the number of listings, members, revenues, page views, and marketing expenditures in order to assess the durability of the Company's market power.

Having established dominance in the relevant markets, the TCA examined whether the Company had leveraged this position into the adjacent market for online second-hand vehicle buying and selling services through its Otobid service³. In particular, it assessed whether the Company's conduct in relation to Otobid could amount to an abuse by:

• Obtaining and using user data generated in the markets in which the Company holds a dominant position for the purposes of the Otobid service
• Leveraging the advantages associated with its dominant position, including intensive advertising expenditure relating to the Otobid service, to strengthen its position in the adjacent market

Assessment of the TCA

In examining the competition concerns above, the TCA first addressed the strategic importance of data in digital markets, noting that even where the services in digital markets appear to be offered at zero price, users effectively pay with data. The TCA further emphasised that data-driven advantages may reinforce network effects, raise entry barriers, and strengthen a platform's position, particularly within ecosystem structures where data obtained in one service can support activities in another and create a feedback loop that facilitates leveraging.

Following this approach, the TCA examined the Company's data combination practices and the technical and contractual framework underpinning them. The review of user agreements, privacy policies and the Otobid and AUTOKING⁴, documentation showed that the Company reserved broad rights, subject to user consent, to collect, process and transfer data across services. On-site inspection findings further indicated that data collected by the Company through its listing services, Otobid and AUTOKING were stored within a common technical infrastructure and consolidated in a single data pool.

In light of the above, the TCA identified several practices that were capable of linking data obtained in the listing markets to the Otobid service, including:

• The use of listing and interaction data to identify potential Otobid users
• Push notifications targeting users who had not yet finalised their listings and
• Interface-based redirections during the listing process, including instances where vehicle information had not yet become publicly available

Interim Measures Decision

In light of its assessment, the TCA adopted interim measures. In its reasoning, the TCA emphasised that in digital markets, practices such as data combination, self-preferencing, cross-use of data, and interface-based steering may rapidly reinforce network effects and further entrench the position of a dominant platform. If allowed to continue during the investigation, such dynamics could alter market conditions in a manner that would be difficult to reverse. Accordingly, to preserve the existing competitive structure pending the final decision, the TCA imposed three interim measures:

• Homepage visibility restrictions: Otobid displays on Company's homepage could not be designed in a way that made them more prominent than the vehicle listing option
• Prohibition of Redirection During the Listing Process: Users could not be steered to Otobid during the vehicle listing process, which the TCA viewed as a critical decision point
• Separation and Restriction of Data Use: User and listing data obtained through the corporate and individual vehicle listing services shall not be used in the online second-hand vehicle trading market, and the necessary organisational and technical measures shall be implemented to ensure this separation

Summary of the Commitments

During the course of the investigation and following the interim measures decision, the Company submitted a set of commitments in order to address the competition concerns identified by the TCA. While the commitments broadly reflected the scope of the interim measures, they went beyond those temporary obligations and introduced more comprehensive and structurally embedded remedies.

In essence, the commitments sought to eliminate the alleged leveraging of the Company's dominant position in online vehicle listing services into the adjacent online second-hand vehicle trading market through Otobid. The commitments accepted by the TCA can be grouped under four main headings:

• Homepage visibility restrictions: The Company committed to removing Otobid displays from its website and mobile application.
• Prohibition of Redirection During the Listing Process: The Company agreed that users would not be redirected to Otobid during the vehicle listing process. This measure was intended to preserve the neutrality of the listing workflow and prevent steering in favour of the adjacent service.
• Separation and Restriction of Data Use: The Company further committed not to use non-public user and listing data obtained through its listing services for Otobid. It also agreed to implement the necessary organisational, operational, administrative and technical measures to ensure effective data separation between the services.
• Revenue and Advertising Threshold: Finally, a revenue threshold mechanism was introduced. In this regard, once Otobid reaches a specified level of activity, its revenues must cover its variable costs and advertising expenditure. This element sought to address concerns regarding potential cross-subsidisation and the use of financial strength to support expansion in the adjacent market.

On this basis, the TCA accepted the commitments and terminated the investigation. Although the reasoned decision has not yet been published, the public announcement does not specify any time limit, which indicates that the commitments were accepted for an indefinite duration.

Why This Decision Matters & Conclusion

The case clarifies the limits within which a dominant and vertically integrated digital platform may expand into related markets. In its decision, the TCA considered that elements such as data combination, ecosystem design, and platform interface mechanisms may have significant competitive implications when used to reinforce market power in an adjacent market. In this respect, market power in digital markets is assessed not only through price parameters but also through control over data and the ability to steer users within a platform ecosystem.

It also illustrates a graduated and structured enforcement approach. In this case, while the interim measures were designed to contain immediate competitive risks during the investigation, the commitments established more durable boundaries concerning data use, visibility, and financial support within the Company's ecosystem. Taken together, the case provides a clear signal that the expansion strategies of dominant digital platforms will be assessed in an integrated and forward-looking manner under competition law, particularly where control over data and ecosystem design shape competitive dynamics.

Footnotes

1. Please see. https://www.rekabet.gov.tr/Karar?kararId=9f3edb70-5190-4d4f-8f1f-c7f486a8005c, Last accessed: 12.02.2025.

2. Please see. https://www.rekabet.gov.tr/en/Guncel/ongoing-investigation-on-sahibinden-bilg-fb9bfab3e8f1f01193f40050568585c9, Last accessed: 12.02.2025.

3. Otobid is a service launched in November 2023 that enables users to sell their vehicles through an online bidding and second-hand vehicle trading model operated by the Company.

4. AUTOKING is the Company's vehicle appraisal and inspection service supporting second-hand vehicle transactions, including those carried out through Otobid service.

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