COVERT ADVERTISING BY INFLUENCERS: PROHIBITION OF COVERT ADVERTISING, JOINT LIABILITY AND ADMINISTRATIVE SANCTIONS

In social media posts, presenting a product as if it were used in the ordinary course of daily life, praising a business in the guise of independent consumer advice, or directing followers directly to a purchase page without disclosing that the post is an advertisement is referred to in practice as "hidden advertising".

The legal term used for such postings in the legislation is covert advertising.

Even if an influencer receives money, free products, discounts, accommodation, travel, invitations, commissions, gifts, or any other commercial benefit in exchange for their post, their failure to disclose this relationship to their followers leads to the post being perceived as an independent user experience. The main purpose of the ban on covert advertising is to enable consumers to understand at first glance whether the content they are seeing is personal advice or commercial advertising.

Attention should also be paid to the technical nature of the term "penalty" used here. The sanctions imposed by the Advertising Board within the Ministry of Trade are, as a rule, administrative sanctions, not judicial penalties. In other words, it's not about directly imprisoning the influencer; rather, it involves stopping, correcting, temporarily suspending the advertisement, or imposing an administrative fine. However, if the advertised product or service is also linked to a criminal activity, different processes may arise in terms of criminal law.

Legal Basis for Covert Advertising

The main basis for the ban on covert advertising is Article 61 of the Law No. 6502 on Consumer Protection.

According to Article 61 of the Law, commercial advertisements must be honest and truthful, must not deceive the consumer, and must not exploit the consumer's lack of knowledge or experience. The same article defines the use of a name, trademark, logo, trade name, or other distinctive element of a good or service in content for advertising purposes without explicitly stating that it is an advertisement as covert advertising, and covert advertising is prohibited in all forms of communication.

Therefore, while the mere appearance of a brand in an influencer's post doesn't always qualify as advertising, the overall purpose of the post, its commercial relevance, the relationship between the brand and the influencer, and whether followers are being encouraged to make a purchase are all considered together.

According to Article 63 of Law No. 6502, the Advertising Board within the Ministry of Trade has the authority to review and supervise commercial advertisements. The Advertising Board may conduct investigations upon complaint, or it may initiate investigations ex officio without any complaint. The Board may decide to stop the offending advertisement, to correct it using the same method, to impose administrative fines, and, if deemed necessary, to temporarily suspend it for up to three months. The decisions of the Advertising Board are implemented by the Ministry of Trade.

When does an influencer's post count as covert advertising?

For a post to be considered covert advertising, it's not necessary for the influencer to have been paid. Commercial relationships can be established in many different ways.

The following situations may create a risk of covert advertising:

• Paying influencers a fee in exchange for sharing content
• Free shipping of the product,
• Offering a service free of charge or at a discounted price,
• Free provision of hotel, restaurant or event invitations,
• Covering airfare or accommodation expenses,
• Earning commission from affiliate marketing links,
• Assigning a special discount code to the influencer,
• A bonus or share of the profit is given as the product is sold
• Directing users to the brand's account, contact number, or sales link
• An influencer promoting their own business in a personal post format,
• Sharing the text, image, or script specified by the brand.

The Ministry of Trade's 2021 Social Media Influencer Guidelines mandate that if an influencer receives financial gain or benefits such as free or discounted products or services, the commercial relationship must be clearly stated. The advertising description must be easily noticeable, legible, and distinguishable from other content at a glance.

Therefore, statements such as "I like the product myself," "I didn't receive any money, it was just a gift," "The brand didn't require me to share it," or "I shared it to support my friend's business" do not, by themselves, eliminate the possibility of covert advertising.

The important thing is whether there is a direct or indirect benefit behind the sharing and whether the content is intended to direct the consumer towards a specific product or service.

Not every brand sharing is covert advertising

As a rule, a genuine consumer review given by an influencer voluntarily, without any commercial affiliation, free product offer, discount, commission, or other benefit, is not considered advertising.

However, if it is claimed that the post is not an advertisement, this must be demonstrated in concrete terms. In particular, the following indicators strengthen the assessment that the post is a planned commercial communication rather than personal advice:

• Tagging a brand or business account,
• Sharing sales links,
• Providing a contact number or reservation information,
• Purchase prompts such as "buy now," "last hours," and "don't miss out,"
• Brand-specific campaign or discount code,
• Systematic sharing of content targeting the same brand,
• Showing the product's logo and packaging specifically facing the camera,
• The influencer and the brand sharing the same or similar texts,
• Content should be published according to a specific campaign schedule.

The Advertising Board does not only consider the name of the contract between the parties in its evaluation. The use of terms such as "gift contract," "barter," "product experience," "invitation," "PR mailing," or "brand ambassadorship" does not alter the actual economic nature of the relationship.

Shared Responsibility Between Advertiser, Agency, and Influencer

In influencer advertising, the responsibility doesn't lie solely with the person who shares the content.

In accordance with Law No. 6502 and the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices;

• Advertiser,
• Advertising agency,
• Media establishment,
• People involved in the preparation or publication of the advertisement

They may be held accountable for compliance with regulations.

The Social Media Influencer Guide also states that advertisers must inform influencers about regulations, strive to ensure influencers fulfill their obligations, and take necessary precautions against violations. It is clearly stated that advertisers, advertising agencies, and influencers each separately responsible .

At this point, the concept of "joint liability" needs to be evaluated separately in terms of administrative sanctions and private law liability.

Liability in Terms of Administrative Sanctions

In terms of administrative sanctions, it is not mandatory for a single fine to be collected jointly and severally from the brand and the influencer. The essential point is that each person involved in the infringement should be subject to sanctions separately, based on their own legal position, actions, fault, and economic situation.

According to Article 14 of the Law on Misdemeanors No. 5326, if more than one person participates in the commission of a misdemeanor, an administrative fine may be imposed on each person as the perpetrator. Holding one person responsible does not absolve the other participants of their responsibility.

Therefore, due to the same advertising campaign;

• To the advertising company,
• To the agency that prepared the campaign,
• To the influencer who published the content

It is legally possible to impose separate administrative sanctions.

However, it cannot be said that the sanction should be automatically applied to every actor. The Advertising Board evaluates the roles of the parties, the commercial relationship, who instructed the content to be prepared, the nature of the interest, and the fault in the violation in the specific case.

Can all responsibility be left to the influencer through a contract?

The fact that the contract between the brand and the influencer includes a clause stating that "the influencer is solely responsible for the non-use of the advertising label" does not automatically eliminate the brand's public law liability under the Ministry of Trade and the Advertising Board.

Such a contractual provision may be significant in the internal relations of the parties. For example, the brand may seek recourse to recover damages or penalties paid due to the influencer's breach of contract. However, the administrative authority determines liability directly according to the provisions of the law and regulations.

Similarly, an influencer's defense that "The agency told me not to use advertising tags" does not automatically absolve them of responsibility. The influencer remains obligated to ensure the legality of the content they publish on their social media accounts.

Joint and Several Liability under Private Law

If a consumer or a competing business suffers tangible harm due to covert advertising, in addition to administrative sanctions, private law liability may also arise.

According to Article 61 of the Turkish Code of Obligations, joint and several liability provisions may apply when more than one person jointly causes damage or is liable for the same damage for different legal reasons. In this case, if the conditions are met, the injured party may claim the full amount of the damage from one of the responsible parties; the right of recourse of the responsible party who made an overpayment is reserved.

If covert advertising affects the economic activities of competitors and the decisions of their customers, the unfair competition provisions of the Turkish Commercial Code may also be applied. In this context, the determination of the wrongfulness of the act, its prevention, the elimination of its consequences, and claims for material or moral damages if fault is found may arise.

Therefore, the administrative fine imposed by the Ministry of Trade does not prevent the consumer or competitor from filing a separate compensation lawsuit.

Can the Ministry of Trade directly fine an influencer?

Yes.

In recent practices, the Advertising Board has observed that influencers are considered not only the face of advertisements or assistants to advertisers, but also directly subject to sanctions with regard to their own social media accounts.

In some of its decisions, the Board has characterized the influencer as a "media organization" because they are the account owner and the person who controls the platform where the advertisement is published, and has applied the sanction directly to the influencer.

This approach shows that the influencer cannot completely absolve themselves of responsibility by simply arguing that "the brand is primarily responsible.".

The Decision Regarding Covert Advertising Against Dilan Polat

In a case examined at the Advertising Board's meeting dated April 17, 2025, and numbered 356, it was determined that Dilan Polat's Instagram account contained links to various products and businesses' accounts, sales links, and campaigns; however, the posts did not include any advertising or collaboration statements.

The board deemed the posts to be covert advertising and, addressing Dilan Polat directly as the "media organization," decided to halt the advertisements. This decision did not impose an administrative fine; only a cease and desist order was chosen.

This example shows that not every violation of covert advertising regulations necessarily results in a fine. Depending on the nature of the violation, the Board may also decide to simply stop the advertisement.

The Fine Imposed on Derev Clara Kösedağ

At its meeting dated January 16, 2025, numbered 353, the Advertising Board examined posts on an influencer's Instagram account that visibly featured products and brand elements of an alcoholic beverage brand.

The board deemed the advertisement to be covert advertising of an alcoholic beverage, the promotion of which is prohibited by law; considering the influencer as a "media organization," it directly an administrative fine of 550,059 TL and a cease and desist order for the advertisements .

550,059 TL is the penalty amount applied at the time the decision was made. This amount is not the current penalty range valid for 2026.

This decision is particularly important because it concerns not only the concealment of an advertising relationship, but also the promotion of a product whose advertising is prohibited by specific legislation. Therefore, even if the label "advertisement" had been used, the advertisement for an alcoholic beverage would not have become legally compliant.

The Penalty Amount for Influencer Covert Advertising in 2026

According to Article 77/12 of Law No. 6502, administrative fines for commercial advertisements are determined based on the medium in which the advertisement is published.

Influencer advertisements published on digital channels such as Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook, Twitch, podcast platforms, and similar platforms are generally fall under the category of online advertising .

The administrative fines that may be applied for advertising violations on the internet in 2026:

It ranges from 1,083,706 TL to 10,837,065 TL.

When all advertising channels are considered together, the general lower and upper limits of administrative fines that can be applied for deceptive advertising and unfair commercial practices in 2026 range from 99,339 TL to 39,916,524 TL. The range specific to internet advertising is 1,083,706 TL – 10,837,065 TL.

It should not be assumed that these amounts will be applied automatically for every instance of hidden advertising. The Advertising Board;

• The advertisement should be stopped
• Correction using the same method,
• Administrative fines,
• If necessary, it may be suspended as a precautionary measure for up to three months

They can decide together or separately.

Therefore, while a cease and desist order can be issued against an influencer alone, it is also possible to impose both an administrative fine and a cease and desist order simultaneously.

How is the amount of the fine determined?

The Advertising Board does not only consider follower count when determining administrative fines.

In determining the amount of penalties in the 2026 implementation, particular attention will be paid to:

• The unjust nature of the deviation,
• The magnitude of the benefit obtained as a result of the violation,
• The extent of the harm caused or that may be caused to consumers,
• The fault of the person who committed the violation,
• The influencer's or company's financial situation,
• The medium in which the advertisement was published,
• Level of content reach and dissemination

is taken into consideration.

In this specific case, the following circumstances may aggravate the risk of sanctions:

• The advertisement should be published on an account with a high number of followers
• Making numerous untagged posts about the same brand,
• The content remains accessible for a long time
• Using unsubstantiated claims in the fields of health, cosmetics, dietary supplements, or finance,
• Choosing children as the target audience,
• Advertising the promotion of prohibited products or services,
• The advertisement continued despite a previous cease and desist order
• The deliberate use of methods to conceal brand association,
• Creating a fake customer experience or fake reviews.

Conversely, the prompt removal of the post, the subsequent explicit disclosure of the advertising relationship, the fact that it was the first instance of a violation, limited access, and cooperation with the investigation may be argued in favor of the defendant in the specific case. However, the subsequent deletion of the post does not automatically erase a previously completed violation.

The Advertising Board's Approach to Covert Advertising

According to the Advertising Board's 2024 activity report, 120 cases of covert advertising were examined; violations of regulations were found in 115 of these cases. In 100 of the cases found to be in violation, a cease and desist order was issued, while in 15 cases, a cease and desist order was issued along with an administrative fine, resulting in a total administrative fine of 7,143,479 TL.

These data show two important conclusions:

Firstly, the rate of detecting irregularities in covert advertising investigations is quite high.

Secondly, the Board does not apply the same sanction for every violation; it distinguishes between suspension only, or suspension combined with a fine, depending on the nature of the incident.

The risk of administrative fines increases, particularly in cases involving the promotion of products whose advertising is prohibited by specific legislation, health claims, serious consumer deception, or systematic advertising activities.

Hidden Ad Reviews After August 1, 2026

The ban on covert advertising does not begin on August 1, 2026. This ban has been in effect before that date under Law No. 6502 and existing advertising legislation.

However, with the amendment to the Regulation published in the Official Gazette dated July 1, 2026, and numbered 33297, the obligations regarding advertisements made by social media influencers have been directly added to the text of the Regulation. The new provisions will enter into force on August 1, 2026.

According to the new regulation, the influencer must:

• Earning any profit,
• Receiving discounted or free products or services,
• Gaining a benefit through participation in an event

In this case, it is mandatory to use the words "advertisement" or "promotion" in a way that makes it clear that the post is an advertisement .

Following this regulation, simply labeling the brand or using expressions that are not sufficiently clear on their own, such as "thank you," "I was invited," "gifted," "collaborate," "sponsor," or "partnership," will carry legal risks.

The safest practice is to include statements like these at the beginning of the content, prominently displayed at first glance:

“ADVERTISEMENT | This content has been prepared as part of a commercial collaboration with brand X.”

or

“PROMOTION | This product was shipped free of charge by brand X.”

In campaigns consisting of multiple stories, videos, or posts, including the ad description only in the first piece of content may not be sufficient. The commercial relationship needs to be clearly understood in every piece of advertising content the consumer encounters.

Key Situations Requiring Direct Sanctions Against an Influencer

Considering the practices of the Advertising Board, the likelihood of an influencer being directly subject to sanctions is particularly high in the following cases:

1. The post was published from the influencer's own account,
2. Redirecting traffic to the product or service sales account,
3. Clear display of the brand, trade name, logo or link
4. No use of advertising or promotional statements at all,
5. The information is concealed in a way that the consumer cannot see it
6. The influencer receiving free products, discounts, commissions, or other benefits,
7. Pretending to have used a product that he/she hasn't actually used
8. Giving the impression that he/she bought the gift item himself/herself,
9. Using unproven claims about health or scientific outcomes,
10. Promoting products or services that are prohibited from being advertised.

A low follower count alone is not sufficient to prove that someone is not an influencer. If a person uses their social media account to promote a business and generate profit, they can be considered a social media influencer in terms of liabilities.

Conclusion

Covert advertising by influencers is not simply a matter of lacking a label. Covert advertising is an advertising practice that eliminates the consumer's right to distinguish between commercial content and personal advice, and is explicitly prohibited by Article 61 of Law No. 6502.

If an advertising relationship is concealed, not only the brand but also the agency that prepared the campaign and the influencer who shared it can be held directly responsible. The Advertising Board has issued rulings in which influencers, in their capacity as "media organizations," are directly subject to cease and desist orders and administrative fines.

In 2026, the administrative fines that can be applied for advertising violations on the internet range from 1,083,706 TL to 10,837,065 TL. However, a fine is not automatically imposed for every instance of covert advertising. The Board may impose only a cease and desist order, or a combination of a fine and a cease and desist order, depending on the nature of the violation, the fault, the economic situation, the benefit obtained, and the harm caused to the consumer.

Starting August 1, 2026, influencer posts made in exchange for earnings, free or discounted products, services, or events will be required to explicitly include either the word "advertisement" or "promotion.".

The fact that liability is waived in the contract between the brand and the influencer does not bind the Advertising Board. Each actor is individually responsible for their own obligations arising from the legislation. If a consumer or a competing business suffers damage as a result of the same action, in addition to administrative sanctions, compensation and unfair competition lawsuits may also arise.