Highlights Of Competition Enforcement In Türkiye – June 2026

 Notable Decisions of the Turkish Competition Authority

• Meta's Application for the Relaunch of Threads in Türkiye Found Compliant with Binding Commitments: The Turkish Competition Authority (“TCA”) has approved Meta's application to relaunch its Threads application in Türkiye, confirming that the proposed relaunch structure is compliant with the commitments previously rendered binding by the Board.

In August 2023, the TCA initiated a preliminary examination into Meta over allegations that the launch of Threads was unlawfully tied to Instagram in violation of Article 6 of Act No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition (“Competition Act”). Concerns regarding data combination between the two platforms led to a full investigation.

During the investigation, the Board imposed an interim measure in February 2024 to prevent data combination between Threads and Instagram. Meta responded by suspending Threads in Türkiye entirely and was fined for the period of non-compliance with the interim measure prior to the suspension. The investigation was concluded in November 2024 with a binding set of commitments to address the tying and data combination concerns.

Under the binding commitments, Meta undertook to design a structure enabling users to use Threads without the need to have an Instagram account, and to choose whether to link their Threads profile to Instagram or to create a separate profile without data combination. The TCA found Meta’s relaunch application compliant with the binding commitments, clearing the way for Threads to return to Türkiye.

• The TCA Authorised Uber Technologies, Inc.'s Acquisition of Certain Business Lines of Getir, Subject to Commitments: The TCA has authorised Uber Technologies, Inc.'s acquisition of sole control over Getir Perakende Lojistik A.Ş.'s (i) online food ordering and delivery services business and (ii) online fast-moving consumer goods ordering and delivery services business, subject to a commitments package presented by Uber.

The commitments include a total investment of USD 500 million to be made by Uber in Türkiye, which is expected to support highly qualified employment, strengthen local engineering capabilities, and contribute positively to the development of Türkiye's digital and technological infrastructure.

• Investigation into Coca-Cola Concluded with Binding Commitments: The TCA concluded its investigation into Coca-Cola Satış ve Dağıtım A.Ş. ("CCSD") concerning alleged foreclosure of competitors through exclusivity arrangements and discount practices under Articles 4 and 6 of the Competition Act by accepting a comprehensive set of commitments, the key elements of which include:
• 35% of CCSD-owned coolers must be allocated to competing products, physically separated and clearly labelled, with visibility of rival products protected. CCSD products must not be placed in the allocated area. This obligation applies on a per-cooler basis in outlets with more than one CCSD cooler and is not waived by the presence of an outlet-owned cooler.
• CCSD must submit independent third-party measurement reports to the TCA upon request. Where a sales representative finds that the cooler access rule is not being observed, the outlet will receive a warning on the first finding, with orders reduced by 10% for each subsequent instance of non-compliance.
• The minimum annual purchase volume requirement for cooler supply and related invoicing practices has been terminated. Outlet investment supports must be granted independently of product purchase agreements and must not be conditional on the removal of competing products. Discounts must be determined on a per-product-category basis and must not be tied to purchases in another category.
• Investigation into Undertakings in the Tyre Production and Distribution Sector Concluded with Fines: The TCA concluded its investigation into multiple undertakings in the tyre production and distribution sector, finding violations of Article 4 of the Competition Act, involving concerted practices on pricing, resale price maintenance, region and customer restrictions on dealers, discriminatory practices, non-compete obligations, anticompetitive information exchange, and no-poach agreements.

Seven undertakings, including Petlas, Tatko and Üstündağ, settled during the investigation, resulting in fines of approximately TRY 497 million. The remaining undertakings Brisa Bridgestone Sabancı, Goodyear, Hankook, Michelin, Pirelli, Prometeon and Otomotiv Lastikleri Tevzi were fined through the full investigation process, with total fines of approximately TRY 3.14 billion. Combined fines across all parties reached approximately TRY 3.63 billion.

The Board also imposed behavioural obligations on all producer/supplier undertakings to prevent indirect information exchange through dealers, including watermarked price announcements, individual dealer portal communications, and contractual penalty clauses prohibiting dealers from sharing future pricing information with competitors.

• TCA Concluded Casting Sector Investigation with Fines and Mandatory Structural Separation Requirements: The TCA concluded its investigation into the Casting Agencies Association and a large number of undertakings operating in the casting agency and management sector, finding violations of Article 4 of the Competition Act through collective determination of agency commission rates and service terms, and exchange of competitively sensitive information. Total fines of approximately TRY 42.16 million were imposed on 36 undertakings and the Association.

In addition to fines, the Board imposed the following behavioural obligations on all undertakings in the sector:

• Casting direction and casting agency/management activities must not be conducted within the same economic unity.
• Production and casting agency/management activities must not be conducted within the same economic unity.
• The appearance of a talent in a content must not be made conditional upon the appearance of other talents.

The Casting Agencies Association was additionally required to restructure its membership to admit only casting agency/management undertakings, to inform its members of the above prohibitions, and to publish an informative text on its website regarding the identified competition concerns.

• TCA Concluded Investigation into Subscription-Based Video Streaming Platforms through Commitment Procedure: The TCA terminated its investigation into Netflix, BluTV, Disney, Amazon Prime, Exxen and Gain concerning exclusivity practices in agreements with content owners, producers and talent, as well as allegations of discriminatory producer selection and unfair contractual terms by Netflix.

All parties committed to capping exclusivity periods for both branded and non-branded content, introducing revenue-sharing mechanisms in favour of producers, and refraining from talent exclusivity arrangements and non-compete or blanket exclusivity obligations in agreements with Turkish producers and distributors.

Netflix additionally committed to allocating a portion of its branded Turkish content to producers that have not previously worked with Netflix, organising annual Presentation Days for at least 80 new producers, directors and screenwriters, and evaluating project applications within 120 days with reasoned written feedback. Netflix also committed to separating key production roles across different persons or economic unities and to not restricting independent producers from applying for government incentives.

• TCA Opens Investigation into Meta over WhatsApp AI Integration and Imposes Interim Measure: The TCA has opened an investigation into the economic unity of Meta to determine whether it has violated Article 6 of the Competition Act by integrating its Meta AI service into WhatsApp and preventing third-party artificial intelligence providers from offering services through the platform.

During the preliminary examination, the Board found that Meta's conduct in blocking third-party general-purpose generative AI chatbots and assistants from offering services through WhatsApp as a primary service constitutes a serious finding of a competition violation under Article 6. Accordingly, alongside opening the investigation, the Board imposed an interim measure requiring Meta to establish conditions that enable third-party general-purpose generative AI chatbots and assistants to offer their services through WhatsApp in a manner that does not complicate the provision of such services de facto or economically.

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