Beyond Fines: Four Key Commitment Decisions by the Turkish Competition Board

The Turkish Competition Board (the “Board”) has recently concluded four significant proceedings through commitments. These decisions provide fresh guidance on the Board’s expectations in relation to exclusivity, access and non-discrimination, as well as its growing use of commitments to address complex competition concerns without imposing fines.

1. COMMITMENTS IN THE INVESTIGATION INTO SVOD PLATFORMS (NETFLIX, BLUTV, DISNEY, AMAZON PRIME, EXXEN AND GAIN)

The investigation initiated in relation to subscription-based video-on-demand platforms (NETFLIX, BLUTV, DISNEY, AMAZON PRIME, EXXEN, GAIN) has been concluded under the commitment procedure, following the acceptance by the Board of the commitments submitted by the parties.

1.1 NETFLIX:

• Selection of independent producers and transparency: It has been committed that, for a period of five years, a certain proportion of Netflix-branded Turkish content will be produced with production companies that have not previously worked with Netflix; that, for a period of three years, at least one “Pitch Day” will be organized each year, enabling at least 80 producers/directors/scriptwriters who have not previously worked with Netflix to present their projects; that the selection criteria will be publicly announced in a transparent manner; and that applications will be responded to in writing, with reasons, within a maximum of 120 days.
• Easing of content exclusivity: Exclusivity periods for branded Turkish films will be shortened, and a revenue-sharing model will be applied for part of the term. For branded series, producers will be granted non-exclusive distribution rights and revenue/bonus opportunities outside Türkiye via linear TV and transaction-based VOD. Exclusivity periods for non-branded Turkish series and films will be shortened, and existing agreements will be adapted accordingly. Music rights relating to the content will be held by Netflix only for the exclusivity periods specified in the commitments.
• Removal of talent exclusivity: No exclusivity will be applied to talent such as actors, directors and scriptwriters; particular care and diligence will be exercised in terms of the scope and duration of exclusivity clauses in agreements concluded with producers. The guidelines addressed to producers will include provisions preventing the roles of producer, casting director and agent from being combined within the same person/economic entity. No non-compete agreements will be concluded with Turkish producers/distributors, nor agreements providing for broad exclusivity over all content produced.
• With respect to contractual terms: No provisions will be used that restrict independent producers from applying for and benefiting from state incentives in the course of producing subsequent seasons of branded Turkish series and other branded Turkish content.

1.2 DISNEY, BLUTV, AMAZON, EXXEN and GAIN:

• Limitation of content exclusivity: Exclusivity periods providing that branded and non-branded content may be offered solely on their own platforms will be capped at maximum durations; under certain conditions, it will be possible to shorten these periods in return for revenue sharing and partial reimbursement of costs.
• Termination of talent exclusivity: No agreements containing direct or indirect exclusivity clauses will be concluded with talent for branded Turkish content to be broadcast in Türkiye, and practices that would de facto produce the same result will be avoided. It has been committed that such exclusivity will not be asserted in agreements to be concluded by third-party producers with talent; that the roles and functions of casting director/producer/agent will not be combined within the same economic entity; and that no non-compete agreements or agreements providing for broad exclusivity over all content will be concluded with producers or distributors in Türkiye.

These commitments were rendered binding by the decision of the Board dated 30.04.2026, and the investigation was closed under the commitment procedure.

2. COMMITMENTS IN THE COCA-COLA SATIŞ VE DAĞITIM AŞ (CCSD) INVESTIGATION

The Board also brought to an end its investigation into Coca-Cola Satış ve Dağıtım AŞ (“CCSD”) under Articles 4 and 6 of Law No. 4054 (the “Law“) concerning exclusivity and rebate practices allegedly foreclosing rivals. In its decision dated 4 June 2026 and numbered 26-20/614-243, the Board accepted a comprehensive commitments package covering, among others:

Expanded access to coolers: The “cooler access rule” established under the 2021 commitments decision was broadened. In both the traditional trade channel and the on-premises channel, 35% of the capacity of CCSD coolers must be made available to rival products. The existence of a separate cooler owned by the point of sale for non-alcoholic beverages will not prevent the application of the access rule. CCSD will provide enhanced information to points of sale, including detailed written notices and QR codes on coolers linking to the relevant rules.

Cooler layout and planograms: The 35% access area will be physically separated by a vertical separator within the cooler and dedicated to rival products. Labels will indicate clearly that this area is reserved for competitors and cannot be used for CCSD products. Where a point of sale has multiple CCSD coolers, the 35% access requirement will apply to each cooler individually. CCSD will commission independent third-party measurement reports to monitor compliance and will submit these to the Board upon request.

Monitoring and incentives: During visits by CCSD and/or distributor sales staff, any non-compliance with the cooler access rule identified at a point of sale will initially lead to a warning. Should non-compliance persist at subsequent visits, CCSD will gradually reduce the orders of the point of sale by 10% for each repeated instance. CCSD will not monitor which specific rival products are placed in the reserved space. The glass surfaces of CCSD coolers will not be covered with labels or other materials that hinder visibility of rival products in the access area, and rival undertakings will be free to place their own price labels in that space.

Revised cooler supply model: CCSD will discontinue the “cooler efficiency” practice, under which the provision of coolers was linked to minimum annual volume thresholds and distributors could be charged balancing invoices where such thresholds were not met.

Changes to targets, incentives and discounts: CCSD will abolish the bonus scheme for Area Sales Managers, increase the fixed salary component to 80% of total remuneration for Field Sales Managers and Sales Representatives and cap the variable component at 20%. Employee-based financial support and performance reporting schemes offered to distributors will be discontinued. CCSD will enhance awareness of its CCINext application that enables independent ordering by points of sale and will strengthen competition compliance obligations for distributors. For its ASA system, CCSD will maintain the condition that a minimum order quantity of one case per product is sufficient for penetration to be deemed achieved.

Investment support and discount policy: Investment support provided to points of sale, such as awnings, signage and shelves, will be granted on the basis of objective criteria, independently from purchase obligations, and will not be tied to the removal or non-placement of rivals’ products or coolers. Contractual terms governing such supports (scope, conditions of use, duration, ownership and claw-back conditions, as well as rights and obligations of the point of sale) will be set out clearly, and points of sale will be regularly informed of their rights. The annual budget for these investments will be capped at a defined percentage of CCSD’s net sales from the previous financial year. Discounts granted to distributors will be determined separately for each product category, based on objective criteria, without tying discounts in one category to the purchase, sale or display of products in another category. Free product support will be abolished in the water and soda categories and limited, in other categories, to points of sale whose annual purchase volumes exceed a specified threshold.

The Board committed to revisiting the effectiveness and proportionality of these commitments after three years.

3. UBER/GETIR TRANSACTION CLEARED WITH COMMITMENTS

In the field of digital platforms and quick commerce, the Board approved the acquisition by Uber Technologies Inc.(“Uber”) of sole control over (i) the online food ordering and delivery business and (ii) the quick commerce business of Getir Perakende Lojistik A.Ş., conditional upon commitments. In particular, Uber committed to investing a total of USD 500 million in Türkiye. This investment is expected to foster high-skilled employment, reinforce local engineering capabilities and contribute positively to the development of Türkiye’s digital and technology infrastructure.

The reasoned decision will be published on the Board’s website in due course and is expected to provide further insight into the Board’s assessment of conglomerate and vertical effects in digital ecosystems, as well as its approach to behavioural and investment-related remedies.

4. META THREADS INVESTIGATION CLOSED THROUGH COMMITMENTS AND RELAUNCH IN TÜRKİYE

Finally, the Board concluded its investigation into Meta Platforms, Inc. (“Meta”) concerning the Threads application. The investigation stemmed from allegations that Meta violated Article 6 of the Law by tying Threads to Instagram and combining user data from both services.

Following the opening of a full-fledged investigation, the Board adopted an interim measure decision on 8 February 2024 prohibiting the combination of data collected via Threads with data obtained from Instagram. Meta subsequently suspended Threads’ activities in Türkiye, rendering the interim measures moot, but the Board later imposed an administrative fine for the period of non-compliance with the interim decision.

During the investigation, Meta submitted commitments aimed at addressing concerns regarding tying and data combination. By its decision dated 7 November 2024 and numbered 24-45/1053-450, the Board accepted these commitments, made them binding and closed the investigation. In essence, Meta committed that, if Threads were to be reintroduced in Türkiye:

users would be able to use Threads without an Instagram account, both new users and those who had previously opened a Threads account before the suspension;

users would be offered a genuine choice between (i) using Threads linked to their Instagram account, and (ii) creating and using a standalone Threads profile (for example, based on a mobile phone number), without combining data with Instagram.

Meta has since applied to the Board for approval of the re-introduction of Threads in Türkiye in line with the binding commitments. On 10 June 2026, by decision numbered 26-21/626-256, the Board confirmed that the steps envisaged by Meta to relaunch Threads are compliant with the commitments. When Threads resumes operations in Türkiye, users will therefore be able either to (i) use Threads with their Instagram account or (ii) create a separate Threads account (e.g., via a mobile phone number) without any combination of personal data from Instagram for those choosing the standalone option.

CONCLUSION

These four decisions underline the Board’s active and increasingly sophisticated use of the commitments mechanism to address complex competition concerns in dynamic markets, encompassing digital content, FMCG distribution, quick commerce and social media. For market participants, they offer concrete guidance on acceptable exclusivity practices, access obligations, discount structures and data strategies, and confirm that well-designed commitments can be an effective way to resolve investigations while avoiding protracted litigation and financial sanctions.