Citation
Saltan, B. (2007), "Legislation on child advertising in Turkey", Young Consumers, Vol. 8 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/yc.2007.32108dab.002
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2007, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Legislation on child advertising in Turkey
Legislation on child advertising in Turkey
Bilge Saltan is a Lawyer at Mehmet Gün and Partners, Istanbul, Turkey.
Legal framework
In Turkey, child advertisement related provisions are mainly treated in the Regulation on the Principles and Fundamentals of Practices Regarding the Commercial Advertisements and Announcements (hereinafter Advertising Regulation), and the Regulation on Fundamentals and Procedures of Broadcast of Radio and Television Establishments (hereinafter Broadcasting Regulation). Although both of the mentioned regulations predict the same provisions in general regarding the principles to be applied to child advertisements, they differ on the parties concerned, the executive councils, and the sanctions to be applied.
The above-mentioned regulations are mainly the reflections of the principles treated in the European Convention on Transfrontier Television ratified in 1992 and duly adapted in 1994. However one would not be wrong saying that though the convention’s ratification and our legal system’s adaptation, the advertisement -thus the child advertisement-related area did not overcome yet its process of development, with the mentioned executive councils’ rigid conception of these rules, with the lack of further specific regulations concerning specific areas such as, movies, internet, video games and self-regulatory bodies.
In this overview we will first treat the child related provisions in theory and secondly the practice, precedents of the executives councils on the child advertising area.
Child advertisements-related provisions
The Advertising Regulation and the Broadcasting Regulation both predict principles related to child advertising and these principles generally show a certain parallelism. However while the Broadcasting Regulation defines child advertisement as “ads on services and products used by fifteen or less years old viewers”, the Advertising Regulation widens up the area by defining it as “ads related to children and minors (i.e. less that 18 for Turkey) or ads where children and minors are used”.
Having two different regulations on the same area may seem odd at first sight but as it may be understood by their shortenings the Advertising Regulation covers all advertisement no matter the nature of the displaying medium whereas the Broadcasting Regulation treats also advertising principles as a side concern while mainly treating the technical issues such as broadcasting periods, principles, techniques authorization and satellite broadcasting.
According to the Broadcasting Regulation the use of, subtitling, framing and telemarketing advertising techniques, is banned while displaying child-related programs. Apart from the above the child advertisement-related provisions, showing a major parallelism in both regulations are the following:
- •
In the advertisements sensation of children should be taken into consideration. Furthermore they should not carry any bad influential items for physical, mental and psychological development of children.
- •
It is forbidden to include violent aspects that children can imitate.
- •
Advertisement of products or services that cannot be used directly by children should not include any view or expression of children.
- •
These advertisements should not abuse lack of information or inexperience of children.
- •
These advertisements should not include a direct call for children to buy the advertised product or service or to convince their parents or other people to buy it.
- •
They should not give any messages that mean becoming a lonely owner or user of a product or service, providing social, physical or psychological advantage between coevals.
- •
These advertisements cannot overdrive affection, tenderness and faithfulness of parents to their children. Children should not be encouraged to buy a product or service by using their inexperience or immaturity.
- •
These advertisements should not include any statement of visual presentation to mislead children about product’s real dimensions, features, durability and performance.
- •
Product or service price should not be stated in a way in which the child would misunderstand its real worth. These advertisements should not implicate that every family budget can afford the advertised product or service.
Executive councils and practice
While radio and television broadcasters are liable under the provisions of the Broadcasting Regulation executed by the Radio and Television Supreme Council; all advertisement owners, creators and any medium (including radio and televisions) displaying the advertisement are liable under the provisions of the Advertising Regulation executed by the Advertisement Board. However, although the Advertising Regulation seems to cover the Broadcasting Regulation with regard of the parties concerned, in practice there is an explicit allocation of duties between the Advertisement Board, and the Radio and Television Supreme Council, according to which the Advertisement Board take initiative for the fining of the advertisement owners, while the Radio and Television Supreme Council act for the fining of the television and radio broadcasters. Until to date there has been no fining of advertisement creators.
Although in theory child advertisement principles seem to be well founded, in practice many advertisement breach them. The restriction regarding “advertisements not promoting products or services to be used directly by children should not include views or expressions of child” is one of the mostly breached provisions, for example besides many others a huge advertising campaign of a telecommunication operator displayed in every medium, that one cannot miss if lives in Turkey, uses children as its mascot almost in its every advertising material.
Another provision namely, the one banning “a direct call for children to buy the advertised or to convince their parents on buying” was breached during the mother’s day promotions by a jewelry company using a child asking his father to buy a diamond ring for his mother.
Previous Advertising Board and Radio and TV Supreme Council decisions
Despite these successive breaches it is surprising to come across only a half dozen of Advertisement Board decision related to illegal advertisement to children. Although these decisions are not many they do serve in clarifying and materializing the scope of some vague child advertisement related provisions:
- •
In the advertisements sensation of children should be taken into consideration. Furthermore they should not carry any bad influential items for physical, mental and psychological development of children. The board decided that this provision was breached in an advertisement of a horse race gambling gazette displaying three babies racing by crawling on all fours while their dads are cheering at the finish line.
- •
These advertisements cannot overdrive affection, tenderness and faithfulness of parents to their children. An add in nutrient product’s advertisement promoting the itself by alleging that it was sufficient all by itself as a breakfast for babies and infants was found breaching this provision because it was abusing the matters on which parents are sensitive.
- •
These advertisements should not include a direct call for children to buy the advertised product or service to convince on buying their parents or other people. This provision was breached according to the board by an advertisement displaying a teenager refusing to come home and threatening his parents with staying over at his grand parents until the bedroom furniture he asks for is bought.
- •
It is forbidden to include violent aspects that children can imitate. Two advertisements were banned for breaching this provision: one for a children food product considered to negatively affecting the children with the reasoning that the advertisement was giving the impression as if the children can make the same dangerous acts after eating the product; and another displaying a child disturbing his parent while driving his car to stop at the toy store promoted.
On the other we are not aware of any Radio and Television Supreme Council decision aiming directly child advertisement related provisions, but the Council has some decisions punishing broadcasters displaying sexual related 900-numbers advertisements displayed in hours when children are able to watch television.