Turkiye: Issued Constitutional Court ruling repealing Article 77 of Law No. 6502 on Advertising Council blocking powers constitutionality

On 13 September 2023, the Turkish Constitutional Court issued its decision on the cases E:2022/70 and K:2023/152, annulling the twelfth paragraph of Article 77 of Law No. 6502 that lists procedures set for the use of the authority for blocking access granted to the Advertising Council, due to contradiction with the necessity and proportionality principles. The repealed provisions granted the Advertisement Board the authority to block access to specific parts, sections, or publications on the Internet where unfair commercial advertising violations occurred. If it was technically infeasible to block just the violating content, or if such selective blocking failed to prevent the violation, the Board could extend the block to encompass the entire website. The cases were advanced by the members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, who requested the annulment of specific provisions added to Article 77 of the Consumer Protection Law. Specifically, the penalties for advertising violations, including fines and the powers of the Advertising Council to block internet access to content found in violation of the law.