It is reported that the Competition Commission, which is cracking down on the Turkish market monopoly, has imposed a fine of 196.7 million Turkish Lira on Google for violating fair competition rules and abusing market dominance through advertising.
This is not the first time that Google has been fined by the Turkish Competition Commission. In September 2018, Google imposed a fine of 98 million Turkish Lira for violating competition laws, claiming that certain companies were prioritized over others in advertising. In addition, in early 2020, a fine of 98.3 million Turkish Lira was imposed on the grounds that it developed aggressively competitive technologies.
There are strict regulations on the Internet in Turkey behind Google’s glare from the Turkish Competition Commission. In 2016, access to Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube was blocked at once. Wikipedia was also subject to this regulation, and restrictions on access to Wikipedia continued for more than two years. Also, in July 2020, a law was passed that could force the government to delete content on Twitter and Facebook. Facebook confronted this law head-on and made a decision to violate legal regulations requiring a representative in Turkey. Accordingly, it is pointed out that Facebook may also face penalties such as fines or speed limits.
One Turkish media expert said that Google’s algorithms represent changes in consumer behavior and at the same time have the most profound interference with consumer behavior.Google has the ability to determine which products or services can access the global market. He pointed out that Google had almost the same influence as the Internet.
According to this, it is argued that Turkey decides its attitude toward technology companies in the form of EU decisions. It is also said that Turkey has become a leader in emerging countries by cracking down on Google.
The Turkish Competition Committee put a six-month grace on Google to resolve the problem and end unfair advertising efforts. It is analyzed that there is a possibility that the competition committee and Google may compromise to some extent because the situation of blocking Google-related connections poses a risk of serious damage to Turkey. Related information can be found here .