The Advertising Board imposed a total fine of 30.2 million lira on advertisements found to mislead consumers. Among the ads penalized were those containing unverified sources of comments and dark designs. The Advertising Board decided to apply an administrative fine of 30.2 million lira for advertisements found to violate regulations. The Ministry of Commerce’s statement indicated that out of the 205 files reviewed during the Board’s meeting on February 14th, 183 were found to be non-compliant with regulations, with one file being temporarily suspended. Along with the temporary suspension, a total of 30.2 million lira in administrative fines were imposed on the aforementioned 183 files. Additionally, access restrictions were placed on 37 of these files to prevent consumer grievances. During the meeting, issues related to ads and commercial practices affecting consumers’ economic choices and benefits, consumer comments impacting economic behaviors, website designs, and financial advertisements were discussed. UNVERIFIED COMMENT INVESTIGATION The Board aimed to prevent false and misleading comments or unproven reviews from being included in comment sections by manipulating rating and review systems on websites. It was reported that verification obligations were introduced for those engaged in commercial practices to ensure that comments and reviews are made by consumers who have purchased the product or service. GOOGLE REVIEWS PENALIZED A review by the Advertising Board revealed that comments and ratings under the “Facility Reviews” section were published based on reviews acquired via Google systems, without verifying that they were made by individuals who purchased the related product or service. The broadcasting of such ads was deemed an unfair commercial practice, resulting in both a temporary suspension penalty and an administrative fine. SCRUTINY ON DARK COMMERCIAL DESIGNS Through inspections initiated by the Advertising Board, administrative sanctions were imposed on companies employing dark commercial designs to mislead consumers. ADVERTISEMENTS ON FINANCIAL SERVICES It was observed that consumers were not informed about the exceptions to the main promise in financial service advertisements. Furthermore, while some ads were part of a general campaign, they were presented as “exclusive” to non-customer consumers, creating a misleading impression. Temporary suspensions and administrative fines were imposed on these specific ads.