Some big Turkish influencers were recently called to the courthouse to give a statement on their giveaways, present their documents that these giveaways are legal, and get rid of any potential penalties. 

According to the laws in Turkey, it is illegal to do a giveaway on social media without getting permission from the Directorate General National Lottery Administration if the gift’s value is over 154 Turkish Liras. Influencers can do giveaways on Instagram or other social media channels to increase their follower count and visibility, but as soon as the value of the prize is over 154 Turkish Liras, they are required to get permission from the administration. Moreover, they need to present their papers for the giveaways 15 days before they put out the post, so they do not get into trouble.

What happened in this case?

In the recent case, Influencers got into investigation due to their giveaways in the past 2 years. As the giveaway craze gets even worse each year, some of these influencers were gifting hundreds of Turkish Liras worth of products to their audiences. So it was inevitable that their content was examined. Some of the influencers took to Instagram stories to talk about the situation. And explained that at the time of their giveaways, there wasn’t such a law that they were aware of. Influencers also mentioned that after the law became valid, they started getting required permits before they go live with the giveaways.

As good as these laws are at regulating the huge market that is social media, there is a chance that they are so over the top and create difficulties for people working in the sector. What do you think about the limit of 154 Turkish Liras being the most that influencers can gift without any permission? Do you think the laws should be stricter or looser? Comment below or start a conversation on our socials!