The new decision of the Information and Communication Technologies Authority ("ICTA") dated 28.03.2023 on "Procedures and Principles on Social Network Providers" ("Decision") entered into force after being published in the Official Gazette on April 1, 2023. The procedures and principles regarding the responsibilities and obligations of social network providers, which were first regulated by the ICTA in 2020 and defined as "real or legal persons who enable users to create, view or share content such as text, image, sound, location, etc. on the internet for social interaction purposes," have been updated with this Decision in line with the Additional Article 4 of the Law No. 5156 on Regulation of Publications and Combating Crimes Committed Through These Publications ("Law"). In addition, it is stated in the Decision that platforms such as e-commerce sites, where only a certain part of the broadcast on the internet includes content for social interaction purposes or where content for social interaction purposes is offered as a secondary or ancillary service, are left out of the scope.

With the Decision, detailed regulations were made regarding the obligations of social network providers regulated under the Law and the implementation of these obligations. The important matters introduced to the Law with the Decision are as follows.

i) Obligations of all social network providers regardless of the number of daily accesses:

  • Providing information to judicial authorities regarding the contents subject to certain offenses
  • Providing differentiated services specific to children
  • Protection of user rights
    • Providing users with the option to update their preferences for content and limit the use of their personal data
    • Notifying the ICTA and users within 72 hours at the latest following the detection of significant security breaches related to user accounts
  • Establishing an effective application mechanism for the removal of title tags and featured content with a warning method and reporting to the ICTA on these mechanisms
  • Sharing information with authorized law enforcement units on the contents that endanger the safety of life and property
  • Providing all requested information and documents to the ICTA
  • Establishing a crisis plan for emergencies affecting public safety and public health

ii) Obligations of foreign social network providers with more than 1 million daily accesses from Turkey:

  • Obligation to designate a representative in Turkey
    • If the representative is a real person, they must be a Turkish citizen and a resident of Turkey.
    • If the representative is a legal entity, it must be established in Turkey and have acquired legal personality according to Turkish legislation.
  • Responding to applications made for content
    • A positive response or a negative one with its justification must be given within 48 hours at the latest
  • Implementation of content removal and/or access blocking decisions and reporting statistical and categorical information on the applications made by individuals to the ICTA in 6-month periods
  • Creating an advertising library
    • The content of the advertisement, the type of advertisement, the period during which the advertisement remains on air, the target audience and the parameters used to determine the target audience, the number of people or groups it reaches, the advertiser etc. should be included.
  • Taking necessary measures to keep the data of users in Turkey within Turkey

iii) Obligations of foreign social network providers with more than 10 million daily accesses from Turkey:

  • Obligation to designate a representative in Turkey
    • The representative is fully authorized and responsible for technical, administrative, legal and financial aspects.
    • If the representative is a legal entity, it must be a branch established as a stock corporation.

o The representative is fully authorized and responsible for technical, administrative, legal and financial aspects.

The Decision also regulates in detail the sanctions to be imposed on social network providers in case of failure to fulfill these obligations. The sanctions vary depending on the breached obligation and the repetition of the breach of obligation, and the amount of administrative fines to be imposed varies from 5 (five) to 30 (thirty) million Turkish Liras. In addition, for some violations, the prohibition of placing new advertisements on the social network provider by legal persons who are taxpayers and residents in Turkey, and the reduction of the social network provider's internet traffic bandwidth from 50% to 90% may also be imposed.

Finally, an administrative fine of up to 3% of the social network provider's global turnover in the previous calendar year may be imposed in case of a violation of any of the obligations of hosting data in Turkey, providing differentiated services specific to children, protecting user rights, protecting the security of life and property, informing the ICTA and establishing a crisis plan.

In conclusion, the Decision introduces detailed regulations regarding the obligations of social network providers regulated under the Law and the enforcement of these obligations. To avoid possible administrative sanctions, it is essential for social network providers to comply with the obligations set forth in this Decision.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.