Author: Defne Pırıldar
The Information Technologies and Communications Board adopted the Procedures and Principles for Social Network Providers (“Procedures and Principles”) with its decision dated 28.03.2023 and numbered 2023/DK-ID/119. The said decision was published in the Official Gazette dated 01.04.2023, and entered into force on the date of publication. The Procedures and Principles aims to clarify the obligations of social network providers stipulated with the amendments to the Act on Internet Broadcasting and Combating Crimes Committed by Internet Broadcastings numbered 5651 (“Internet Broadcasting Act”) in October 2022. This Newsletter article will focus on the prominent provisions regulated under the Procedures and Principles.
What do the New Principles and Procedures Encompass?
Appointing a Representative and the Conditions Required
The Procedures and Principles reiterates the regulation on the obligation of social network providers to appoint a representative as stipulated under the Internet Broadcasting Act and obliges foreign social network providers with more than one million daily accesses from Türkiye to appoint at least one real or legal person representative. In case a real person representative is appointed, the representative must be a resident of Türkiye and a Turkish citizen; in case a legal entity representative is appointed, the representative must be established in Türkiye and have acquired legal personality in accordance with Turkish legislation. On the other hand, it is regulated that the legal person representatives must be an equity company and the conditions required for the equity company to be established are also regulated. Accordingly, the name of the representative must bear the distinguishing tradename of the social network provider and the province where the company is established, all shares must be owned by the social network provider, the articles of association must declare that it is an entity within the organization of and affiliated to the social network provider, the capital must be at least one hundred million Turkish Liras, and finally, the articles of association must clearly state that the social network provider is fully authorized and responsible for technical, administrative, legal and financial aspects.
