Agenda of the Turkish Competition Authority in May
In this article, we summarise the decisions, announcements and important competition law events published by the Turkish Competition Authority (“Authority”) in May 2024.
Dive into May updates
Double fine from the Authority to META
In early May, the Authority announced two decisions on META, the parent company of applications such as Facebook, Instagram, and Threads.
- First Decision 6 May 2024: The Authority finalised an interim measure against META to prevent data aggregation between Instagram and Threads, after META announced Threads’ shutdown in Turkey. META was fined TRY 335,730,707.20 (approximately USD 10.4 million), concluding the 70-day administrative fine period from 20 February 2024 to 29 April 2024. You can find our article on this decision of the Authority here.
- Second Decision 8 May 2024: Only two days later, the Authority accepted META’s proposed remedies and imposed an administrative fine of TRY 551,557,589.86 (approximately USD 17.1 million) and ending the 115-day administrative fine period from 12 December 2023 to 4 April 2024. This fine addressed META’s data aggregation across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, which hindered competition in social networking and online display advertising markets. You can find our article on this decision of the Authority here.
Daily fine imposition on Google
On 16 May 2024, the Authority announced a daily administrative fine of 0.05% per day of Google’s gross revenues for 2023, effective from 15 April 2024, until Google fulfils specific obligations. This fine was due to Google’s failure to comply with obligations to remedy competition issues in local research and hotel price comparison services.
Cartel fines for five French high schools
On 9 May, the Authority fined five private French high schools in Istanbul (Saint-Joseph, Saint Benoît, Notre-Dame de Sion, Saint-Michel, and Sainte Pulchérie) a total of TRY 21,324,909.09 (approximately USD 661,282) for forming a cartel by determining (i) the school registration fees and the elements constituting the fees, and (ii) the salaries of Turkish teachers.
Merger and acquisition transactions
In May 2024, the Authority approved 16 merger and acquisition transactions and one privatisation transaction and issued one negative clearance decision.
Legislative changes affecting Turkish competition law
On 23 May 2024, Law No. 7511 on the Amendment of the Turkish Commercial Code and Some Other Laws was approved, introducing several changes to the Turkish competition law framework, particularly in the area of investigation procedures:
- Removal of First Written Defence Right: The right for parties under investigation to submit a first written defence within 30 days of receiving the investigation notice has been abolished.
- Elimination of Mandatory Additional Written Opinion: The requirement for the Authority to prepare an additional written opinion within 15 days of receiving a defence to the investigation report is now conditional. It will only be prepared if the initial defence leads to changes in the Authority’s views.
- Removal of Extension for Defence Submission: Extensions for submitting additional written opinions to defences to are no longer permitted. The period for such defences is limited to a maximum of 30 days without any possibility of extension.
Overall, these legislative changes aim to expedite the investigation process while maintaining the right to defence.
New investigations
- Novozymes Turkey – 10 May 2024: The Authority concluded the preliminary investigation against Novozymes and initiated a full-fledged investigation of the company and its global subsidiaries for alleged anti-competitive practices in the industrial enzyme market.
- Frito Lay – 13 May 2024: A full-fledged investigation was launched against Frito Lay for complicating competitors’ operations in retails outlets.
- Viking Kağıt – 15 May 2024: A full-fledged investigation was initiated against Viking Kağıt for allegedly fixing resale prices of its products (e.g., Select, Lily, Senso, etc).