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Digital advertising has undergone a significant transformation in recent years. Advertisers increasingly rely on data relating to consumers’ online behaviour, interests, and preferences to deliver personalised advertisements, while artificial intelligence technologies are becoming more widely used in the creation of advertising content, the use of digital characters, and interactions with consumers. Although these technological developments have enabled advertisements to become more effective and tailored to individual consumers, they have also given rise to new legal questions. In particular, concerns have emerged regarding the criteria used to target consumers, the extent to which consumers are exposed to AI-generated content, and the potential impact of such practices on consumers’ economic decision-making.
In response to these developments, the Regulation Amending the Regulation on Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices, published in the Official Gazette on July 01, 2026, introduced, for the first time, specific provisions governing targeted advertising and advertisements created using artificial intelligence under the Regulation on Commercial Advertisement and Unfair Commercial Practices (“Regulation”). These amendments will enter into force on August 01, 2026, and introduce new compliance obligations for advertisers, advertising agencies, and digital platforms.
On the other hand, rather than introducing an entirely new regulatory approach, these amendments largely codify the principles that the Advertisement Board has adopted in its recent decisions concerning digital platforms, targeted advertising, and practices affecting consumers’ online choices and behaviour. Nevertheless, the scope and practical application of concepts introduced by the Regulation such as “direct and easily accessible information”, “materially influencing consumers’ economic behaviour” and “digital characters that cannot be distinguished from real persons” are expected to be further clarified through the future practice and decisions of the Advertisement Board.
This article examines the provisions on targeted advertising and advertisements created using artificial intelligence, which have been introduced into the Regulation for the first time. Beyond outlining the content of these new rules, it also considers the rationale behind their introduction, their relationship with the Advertisement Board’s existing practice, and their potential implications for advertisers.
Targeted advertising
Targeted advertising has become one of the core tools of the digital advertising ecosystem. Online platforms and e-commerce businesses can analyse consumers’ online behaviour, interests, purchasing history, location data, and similar personal data in order to deliver personalised advertisements to specific groups of consumers. While this method increases the effectiveness of advertising, concerns have emerged regarding consumers not being sufficiently informed about the criteria used to target them and not having adequate control over their advertising preferences. As a result, targeted advertising has increasingly become a focus of regulatory attention both in Turkey and internationally in recent years.
Accordingly, rather than prohibiting targeted advertising, the Regulation permits its use subject to certain transparency requirements. It defines targeted advertising as the presentation of advertising content specifically tailored to particular individuals or groups by sellers, service providers, or intermediary service providers acting on their behalf in the conclusion of distance contracts, through the analysis of consumers’ online behaviour, historical preference data, location information, demographic data, or similar personal data. The Regulation further provides that targeted advertising may only be carried out if consumers are provided with direct and easily accessible information explaining the criteria on the basis of which the advertisement is shown to them and how those criteria may be modified.
A noteworthy aspect of the Regulation is that it does not consider it sufficient merely to inform consumers that they are being exposed to targeted advertising. Instead, it requires that consumers also be provided with information regarding the criteria on the basis of which the advertisement is shown to them, as well as how those criteria can be modified.
In fact, the Advertisement Board had already begun to establish its approach to targeted advertising through its decisions prior to these amendments. In particular, in several decisions concerning user interfaces designed to encourage consumers to consent to personalised advertising or to make it more difficult for them to reject such advertising, the Board found these practices to constitute unfair commercial practices. Accordingly, rather than introducing an entirely new approach, the new Regulation largely codifies the Advertisement Board’s established practice, placing it on a clear statutory footing and expressly setting out the key principles applicable to targeted advertising.
However, the Regulation does not establish the legal conditions governing the processing of personal data. Advertisers engaging in targeted advertising must therefore continue to comply with their obligations relating to the processing of personal data under the Personal Data Protection Law No. 6698. The Regulation imposes an additional layer of transparency obligations from an advertising law perspective. Accordingly for targeted advertising practices to be regarded as lawful, it will not be sufficient merely to ensure that personal data is processed in compliance with the Personal Data Protection Law; advertisers must also fulfil the information and transparency requirements set out in the Regulation.
The new provision of the Regulation stating that “targeted advertising based on profiling methods using personal data cannot be carried out where it is known, or reasonably expected to be known, that the consumer is a child” demonstrates that the vulnerable position of children in the digital environment has been taken into account. Digital platforms offering goods and services to children, as well as advertisers operating in the gaming, education, and entertainment sectors, may need to reassess their targeting strategies in light of this prohibition.
AI-Generated Advertisements
With the rapid development of generative artificial intelligence technologies in recent years, artificial intelligence has also become increasingly used in the advertising sector. Applications such as the creation of advertising content, the use of digital characters, and the realistic reproduction of real individuals’ images or voices have provided advertisers with new opportunities, while also creating risks of misleading consumers regarding the nature and origin of advertising content. In this context, the Regulation introduces, for the first time, specific provisions concerning advertisements created using artificial intelligence.
With the addition of paragraph 8 to Article 18 of the Regulation, titled “Presentation of Visuals and Written and Audio Statements”, it is provided that, where artificial intelligence or other software is used in advertisements in a manner that may materially influence consumers’ economic behaviour, or where digital characters indistinguishable from real persons are included through the use of artificial intelligence technologies, this must be clearly, understandably, and distinguishably disclosed.
The relevant provision does not prohibit the use of artificial intelligence; rather, it introduces a transparency obligation aimed at preventing consumers from being misled about the nature of the advertisement. However, the scope of the criterion “materially influencing consumers’ economic behaviour” set out in the Regulation remains unclear. Therefore, it is expected that the circumstances in which the use of artificial intelligence will trigger a disclosure obligation will be further clarified through the practice and decisions of the Advertisement Board.
With the addition of paragraph 12 to Article 27 of the Regulation, titled “Other Matters”, advertisements in which a digital copy of a real person created through artificial intelligence technologies is falsely presented as having used, experienced, or recommended a good or service are prohibited. This provision is not considered to directly target advertisements where a digital copy of a real person is created through artificial intelligence technologies. Rather, it is understood to address a practice frequently encountered in today’s advertising industry, particularly the unauthorised use of celebrities in advertisements implying that they have used, experienced, or endorsed a particular good or service when they have not actually done so.
In conclusion, the Regulation does not adopt an approach that prohibits the use of artificial intelligence in advertisements. Instead, it aims to ensure transparency where the use of artificial intelligence may influence consumers’ economic decisions and to prevent the misleading use of digital copies of real persons. However, as the scope of certain concepts introduced by the Regulation remains unclear, it is expected that the practical application and scope of these provisions will largely be shaped by the future decisions and practice of the Advertisement Board.
Conclusion
The amendments to the Regulation introduce the first comprehensive set of rules addressing targeted advertising and artificial intelligence applications, which have become increasingly common in the digital advertising landscape in recent years. In this respect, the amendments largely reflect the approach adopted by the Advertisement Board in its recent practice while also introducing new transparency obligations and compliance requirements for advertisers.
However, the scope and practical application of concepts such as “direct and easily accessible information”, “materially influencing consumers’ economic behaviour” and “digital characters indistinguishable from real persons” remain unclear. Therefore, the manner in which these provisions will be applied and the boundaries of their implementation will largely be clarified through the decisions to be issued by the Advertisement Board in the coming period.
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.
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