Practice Areas
Social Media Law and Tax Compliance
Removal of content and blocking of access where personality rights are attacked online, together with contract, advertising-compliance and tax work for digital content earnings.
Social media is a fast-moving environment in which infringements of personality rights spread quickly, commercial collaborations have become intensive, and the income earned is subject to close tax scrutiny. The timing of the legal response and full compliance with the legislation directly determine the outcome.
The office provides clients with protection across three dimensions:
1. Personality rights and digital reputation: rapid preservation of evidence against insult, defamation, breach of privacy and reputation-damaging posts; removal of the content from publication; blocking of access; applications based on the right to be forgotten; and the conduct of claims for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages.
2. Agreements and advertising compliance: preparation of advertising, sponsorship, agency and management agreements between content creators, publishers and brands; and review of surreptitious advertising and administrative-penalty risk under the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices.
3. Social media earnings and tax compliance advice: taxation of digital income, the exemption certificate under repeated Article 20/B of Income Tax Law No. 193 and the related bank withholding procedures, assessment of VAT export-of-services treatment, and the development of defence strategies against retrospective tax audits.
Scope of Services
- Removal of Content from Publication and Blocking of Access: applications for interim injunctions and preservation orders before the general civil courts against content that damages personality rights or constitutes a tortious act; applications for removal of content from publication and for blocking of access within the framework of the current legislation
- Right to be Forgotten and Archive Clean-up: removal from publication of news items, images and data that are no longer current, no longer serve the public interest, and continue to occupy the digital record unfairly
- Preservation of Electronic Evidence: securing evidential value through notarised electronic attestation and technical examination, against the risk that social media posts are lost or deleted
- Personality Rights and Damages Claims: bringing and conducting claims for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages before the Civil Courts of First Instance for loss arising from online reputational attacks, unlawful interference and copyright infringement
- Content Creator, Agency and Brand Agreements: preparation, revision and negotiation of advertising, sponsorship, collaboration, copyright assignment, licence and confidentiality (NDA) agreements
- Advertising Compliance and Risk Management: review of influencer posts under Law No. 6502 and the related regulations; prevention of the risk of administrative fines, suspension orders or content blocking before the Advertising Board
- Social Media Earnings and Tax Advice: the exemption certificate under repeated Article 20/B of Income Tax Law No. 193 and the related bank account compliance, withholding on digital advertising (Presidential Decree No. 476), analysis of the VAT exemption for YouTube/AdSense and other platform income (export of services), and resolution of disputes with the tax office
Frequently Asked Questions
- How can I request the removal of an unlawful or reputation-damaging post about me?
- The first and most critical step is to record the post through notarised electronic attestation or other technical means, against the possibility that it is deleted or altered. Under the case law of the Court of Cassation there is no requirement to apply first to the platform or the content provider; recourse may be had directly to the courts. Depending on the nature of the particular case, removal of the content may be sought from the general civil courts by way of an interim injunction; where the attack on personality rights is serious and manifest, urgent judicial protection mechanisms are engaged, and claims for pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages and a criminal complaint may be pursued at the same time.
- Is it compulsory to state that a social media collaboration post is an advertisement?
- Yes. Under the Regulation on Commercial Advertising and Unfair Commercial Practices, consumers must be able to distinguish advertising from organic content. In line with the settled decisions of the Advertising Board, a clear advertising label (#reklam, #işbirliği and similar) is compulsory not only for collaborations in return for a benefit, but also where: - the content creator directs followers to a brand by means of a link or tag in relation to products they bought themselves; - the creator promotes their own business or brand; - the creator encourages purchase through commendatory expressions such as "I recommend it" or "a great product". Otherwise the post is treated as surreptitious advertising and may give rise to suspension orders and substantial administrative fines, as well as removal of the content or blocking of access ordered by the Advertising Board.
- Do I have to set up a company for my social media (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and similar) and app income? How is it taxed?
- As a rule, income earned by those producing content on social networks and by mobile application developers is treated as commercial income. However, where the conditions of the Social Content Producer Earnings Exemption under repeated Article 20/B of Income Tax Law No. 193 are met, there is no obligation to set up a company: - Conditions of the exemption: an exemption certificate must be obtained from the tax office, a taxpayer record opened, and a dedicated account opened with a bank established in Türkiye. The bank automatically applies a 15% income tax withholding on the revenue transferred to that account. - VAT exemption: content creators benefiting from the exemption are exempt from Value Added Tax under Article 17/4-a of VAT Law No. 3065; no VAT registration is established and no return is filed. - Income bracket limit: annual revenue must not exceed the fourth income bracket in Article 103 of the Income Tax Law. If that limit is exceeded, or if revenue is collected through channels outside the exemption, the right to the exemption is lost and the general obligations to keep books, issue invoices and file an annual return arise.
- Is VAT payable on advertising income obtained from foreign platforms (Google Ireland and similar)?
- Earnings falling within the social content producer exemption (repeated Article 20/B of the Income Tax Law) are already fully exempt from VAT. For general taxpayers outside the scope of that exemption, in line with the settled case law of the 9th Chamber of the Council of State, the service of allocating advertising space is treated as supplied directly to the non-resident company (Google Ireland and similar), and the export-of-services exemption under Articles 11/1-a and 12 of VAT Law No. 3065 is applied, so that no VAT is calculated.
- Can a tax audit be opened into social media earnings that were not declared in the past?
- The tax authority may carry out an audit within the five-year limitation period on the basis of bank records and platform notifications. However, where the asset amnesty or the statutory tax-base arrangements in force at the time were properly relied upon for income of earlier periods, no tax assessment may be raised against the taxpayer, in accordance with the case law of the Council of State. Moreover, it is unlawful for the authority in a general audit to treat the entire turnover as profit and to determine the tax base on a 100% profitability assumption; deducting the costs and expenses incurred in producing the content from the tax base is a legal right.
The explanations on this page are for general information only and do not constitute legal opinion. Every dispute must be assessed on its own facts.
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