Social Media Unfair Competition in Turkey: Influencers, Hidden Advertising and Protection of Foreign Brands

Social media has become a key marketing tool in Turkey, especially for sectors such as fashion, cosmetics, technology and hospitality. Influencer collaborations, sponsored posts and viral campaigns allow brands to reach Turkish consumers quickly and relatively cheaply. However, this dynamic environment also creates significant legal risks in terms of unfair competition, misleading advertising and trademark protection – particularly for foreign brands that operate in Turkey through distributors or purely online channels.

1. Legal Framework: Unfair Competition and Advertising Rules

In Turkey, social media marketing is primarily assessed under:

• The Turkish Commercial Code (TCC) provisions on unfair competition (Articles 54–63), which prohibit acts contrary to honest commercial practices, including misleading or deceptive advertising and exploitation of another’s reputation.
• Consumer Protection Law No. 6502 and secondary regulations on commercial advertisements and unfair commercial practices, supervised by the Advertising Board of the Ministry of Trade.
• The Industrial Property Code No. 6769, which protects registered and, in some cases, well-known trademarks against unauthorized use, dilution and unfair advantage.

Influencer campaigns and brand collaborations on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and similar platforms are not outside this framework. In fact, Turkish authorities have expressly emphasized that social media posts can qualify as “commercial advertisements” and “promotions” and are therefore subject to all advertising and unfair competition rules.

2. Influencers and Hidden (Undisclosed) Advertising

A central risk in social media marketing is hidden advertising – where a post that is actually sponsored or paid appears to be the influencer’s neutral, personal opinion.

Under Turkish rules on commercial advertising and the general unfair competition clause, marketing communications must be transparent, identifiable and non-misleading. If a brand pays or otherwise benefits an influencer (e.g. free products, gifts, travel, commissions), the commercial nature of the content must be clearly disclosed.

Typical expectations include:

• Use of clear, understandable labels such as “advertisement”, “sponsored”, “collaboration” or equivalent Turkish expressions;
• Placement of these labels in a visible part of the post (not hidden among dozens of hashtags or only in a small font);
• Avoiding wording that suggests the influencer purchased the product on their own initiative when in fact it was supplied or the content is paid.

Failure to disclose the advertising nature of a post may constitute both misleading advertising and unfair competition, and can lead to administrative fines imposed by the Advertising Board, removal orders for the content, and potential civil claims for damages by competitors harmed by the practice.

Foreign companies working with Turkish influencers – or with influencers who target Turkish consumers from abroad – should incorporate clear disclosure obligations into their influencer agreements and implement monitoring mechanisms to enforce compliance.

3. Use of Competitors’ Marks, Tags and Comparative Content

Another recurring issue is the use of competitors’ trademarks in social media content and metadata:

• Influencers adding a rival brand’s mark as a hashtag to draw traffic (#BrandX under a post promoting Brand Y);
• Posts comparing products in a misleading way or disparaging competitors;
• Social media pages or usernames that incorporate the foreign brand’s mark without authorization, creating an impression of official affiliation.

Under the TCC and the Industrial Property Code, such conduct may constitute:

• Unfair competition by creating confusion, exploiting another brand’s reputation or disseminating misleading statements;
• Trademark infringement, where a registered (or in some cases well-known unregistered) mark is used in the course of trade without consent.

Comparative advertising is not categorically prohibited in Turkey, but it must be objective, verifiable, non-misleading, and must not unfairly disparage or discredit the competitor. In practice, aggressive influencer-driven comparisons are often high-risk, especially when they involve subjective claims (“the only real quality product”, “others are fake/unsafe”) or unverifiable performance promises.

4. Protection of Foreign Brands on Social Media

Foreign brands that are not physically present in Turkey often assume that social media misuse of their name or logo is “low-risk”. In fact, such misuse can erode reputation, confuse consumers and indirectly affect distributor relationships and price positioning.

Key protective steps include:

1. Trademark Strategy in Turkey
   • Register the brand as a trademark in the relevant classes, even if sales are made only via cross-border e-commerce.
   • Consider protection for core logos, word marks and key slogans used in social media campaigns.
2. Monitoring and Takedowns
   • Monitor Turkish-language social media content and hashtags for unauthorized use of the brand.
   • Where necessary, request platform takedowns, send cease-and-desist letters, and – in serious cases – initiate civil or criminal proceedings for trademark infringement and unfair competition.
3. Authorized Influencer and Distributor Policies
   • Draft standard influencer agreements that define brand use, disclosure duties, content approval processes and liability.
   • Distinguish clearly between authorized and unauthorized resellers or pages to avoid confusion and parallel social media accounts that damage brand consistency.
4. Evidence and Enforcement
   • Preserve electronic evidence (screenshots, URL records, timestamps, follower numbers, engagement levels) in a manner acceptable before Turkish courts.
   • In disputes, such evidence is crucial to prove the scale of confusion, reputational harm and the economic value of the influencer’s audience.

5. Practical Takeaways for Foreign Companies

• Treat Turkish social media campaigns as regulated advertising, not as a grey or unregulated marketing channel.
• Ensure that any form of consideration given to influencers (payment, gifts, commissions) is accompanied by explicit, visible disclosure in each post.
• Prohibit influencers and agencies from using competitors’ marks as click-bait hashtags or making unverifiable performance claims.
• Protect your marks in Turkey, monitor their use on social media and be prepared to act swiftly against fake accounts, look-alike pages and misleading collaborations.
• Align your internal global influencer policy with Turkish unfair competition and advertising rules, as local regulators and courts will ultimately look at the impact on Turkish consumers, not just at the brand’s internal standards.

By combining proactive compliance, careful contract drafting and active brand monitoring, foreign companies can leverage Turkish social media and influencer marketing effectively while minimizing the significant legal risks of unfair competition and hidden advertising.