Social Media Regulation

In this bulletin, we would like to share the prominent articles regarding the Amendment on Internet Law numbered 5651 which has been published in the Official Gazette dated 31.07.2020, in which certain obligations for social media platforms entered into force.

The amendment includes a definition for “Social Network Providers”. Accordingly, natural or legal persons who enable users to generate, view or share content such as text, image, audio, and location on the internet for social interaction purposes shall be deemed as Social Network Providers and those accessing more than one million users daily, shall be subject to obligations stated below:

i. Social Network Providers, which are based abroad shall appoint at least one representative in Turkey, and shall publish the contact information of this representative on its website. This information shall be placed in an easily and directly accessible manner. A 5-step sanction system is formed for Social Network Providers which do not fulfill the obligation to appoint and report a representative. The sanction system is as follows:

1) A 30-day period will be granted to Social Network Providers to fulfill this obligation, and if the required action is not taken within the given time, an administrative fine of TRY 10 Million shall be imposed.

2) If the obligation is not fulfilled within 30 days of the notification of the abovementioned administrative fine, another administrative fine of TRY 30 Million shall be imposed on social media companies.

3) If the obligation is not fulfilled within 30 days as of the notification of the second administrative fine, social media platforms will be forced to have representatives according to the obligation in question by imposing a ban on advertising.

4) If the obligation is not fulfilled within three months following the advertising ban, the Judgeship of Criminal Peace may be applied in order to reduce the internet traffic bandwidth by 50%.

5) If the obligation is not fulfilled within 30 days following the mentioned decision, another sanction by the judgeship may be applied to reduce the internet traffic bandwidth by 90%.

ii. Domestic or foreign Social Network Providers shall be obliged to respond the applications regarding the contents that allegedly violates personal rights or right to privacy within 48 hours at the latest. In addition, it is required to conclude necessary actions on this matter within 3 months as of 01.10.2020.

iii. Domestic or foreign based Social Network Providers shall submit a report to the Information Technologies and Communications “Authority” every six months in Turkish, regarding the implementation of decisions on removing content and/or blocking access and other applications regarding the contents. The first one of these reports will be submitted to the Authority in June 2021, and will be published on the website.

iv. Within the scope of data localization, domestic or foreign based Social Network Providers shall take necessary measures in order to store users’ data in Turkey.

v. In the event that the content, which is declared unlawful by a judge or court decision, is notified to Social Network Providers, and if the relevant content is not removed or the access is not blocked within 24 hours upon notification, they will be held liable for compensation of incurred damages.

Considering the amendments explained in this legal bulletin, various domestic and foreign companies actively providing services to millions of users on the internet may need an extensive legal approach under the new Internet Law. We will continue to follow and inform about any improvement thereupon.

The content herein is aimed at providing a general insight regarding the subject. For customized circumstances or further information, please refer to your lawyer.