The Freedom of Expression Association’s (İFÖD) EngelliWeb initiative, which focuses on growing internet censorship in Turkey, has reported that candidates’ defiance of a ban on advertising on social media platform X could lead to violations of freedom of expression ahead of Turkey’s local elections scheduled for Sunday.
The controversial social media law, which came into force in 2020, requires platforms with more than 1 million daily users in Turkey to appoint a legal representative who must be a Turkish citizen and resident in the country. An amendment introduced in October 2022 allowed platforms to be represented by legal entities established by the platforms.
The provisions of the law provide for a gradual sanctioning of platforms that violate the law, starting with fines and progressing to a ban on advertising, which went into effect on July 19, 2023.
Individuals and legal entities residing in Turkey who violate the advertising ban can be fined between TL 10,000 ($309) and TL 100,000 ($3,091).
The Turkish Telecommunications Authority (BTK) has imposed an advertising ban on X for failing to comply with the law.
According to EngelliWeb, despite the ban, some politicians have run advertisements for themselves or their party’s candidate for Sunday’s elections, paving the way for their candidate to gain unfair advantages in the polls.
The initiative pointed out that ads placed for only some of the candidates “undermine the principles of justice and equality,” while the advertising ban imposed on X could potentially lead to a violation of freedom of expression by granting privileges to certain groups.
Among the candidates who have run ads for the upcoming local elections are Veli Arslan, the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) mayoral candidate for İstanbul’s Kadıköy district; Rıza Akpolat, the opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) candidate for İstanbul’s Beşiktaş district; and İdris Şahin, the opposition Democracy and Progress Party’s (DEVA) mayoral candidate for İstanbul.