RTÜK Broadcasting Principles Checklist (Before You Go to Air)

Who Does This List Apply To?

Under Article 1(1), the subject matter of the Broadcasting Law is radio, television and on-demand media services. The obligated party is the media service provider defined in Article 3(1)(l): "the legal person having editorial responsibility for the choice of the content of radio, television and on-demand media services and determining the manner in which that service is organised and broadcast".

• Radio enterprises — those broadcasting over terrestrial, satellite, cable and similar environments (under Article 27(1) a separate licence is required for each environment).
• Television enterprises — national, regional or local (Articles 3(1)(aa), (e), (jj)).
• On-demand media service providers — VOD services where programmes are offered from a catalogue at a time chosen by the user (Article 3(1)(h)).
• Those providing radio, television or on-demand services solely over the internet — under Article 29/A(1) these too must obtain a broadcasting licence from the Supreme Council.
• TRT, the Turkish public broadcaster — under Article 45(1) the broadcasting principles in Article 8 and the commercial communication provisions also apply to TRT's broadcasts.

What falls outside is set out expressly in Article 29/A(4): individual communication is not assessed within the scope of that article; platforms not dedicated to transmitting radio, television and on-demand media services over the internet, and those who merely host such services, are not treated as platform operators. In other words, personal social media broadcasts are not subject to the licensing obligation under this regime.

This list does not apply to the print and internet news website regime. Newspapers, magazines and internet news websites are governed by Press Law No. 5187; Law No. 5187 has no catalogue of broadcasting principles equivalent to Article 8 of Law No. 6112 and no layer of administrative fines. We deal in detail with the difference between the two regimes, and with which statute your own organisation falls under, in our decision tree on which law applies to which type of media.

Article 8(1): All 24 Broadcasting Principles

The opening sentence of Article 8(1) reads: "Media service providers shall provide their media services with a sense of public responsibility and in accordance with the principles set out in this paragraph." The paragraph contains 24 sub-paragraphs. They follow the order of the Turkish alphabet; there are no sub-paragraphs (q), (v), (y) or (z), and (p) is followed directly by (r). The final sub-paragraph, (t), was added by Decree-Law No. 680 of 2/1/2017 and adopted without change by Law No. 7072 of 1/2/2018. Below, all the sub-paragraphs are given in thematic groups, with the sanction group into which each falls.

1) Human dignity and fundamental rights

• (c) May not be contrary to the principles of the rule of law, justice and impartiality. — Article 32(2) group
• (s) May not contain programmes that run counter to gender equality, that encourage pressure against women or that exploit women. — Article 32(1), serious group
• (o) Must respect the right of reply and correction of persons or organisations. — Article 32(2) group

2) Discrimination and hatred

• (b) May not incite society to hatred and hostility, or generate feelings of hatred in society, by drawing distinctions of race, language, religion, sex, class, region or sect. — Article 32(1), serious group; also within the repeat-offence aggravation in Article 32(5)
• (e) May not contain or encourage broadcasts that discriminate against and humiliate individuals on grounds of race, colour, language, religion, nationality, sex, disability, political and philosophical opinion, sect and similar. — Article 32(2) group

3) Protection of children and public morals

• (ğ) May not contain the exploitation of children, the vulnerable and persons with disabilities, and may not encourage violence against them. — Article 32(1), serious group
• (f) May not be contrary to the national and moral values of society, to public morals or to the principle of the protection of the family. — Article 32(1), serious group
• (n) May not be obscene. — Article 32(1), serious group

4) Accuracy and impartiality

• (ı) Must take as its basis the principles of impartiality, factuality and accuracy and must not obstruct the free formation of opinion in society; news that can be investigated within the framework of the professional principles of the press may not be broadcast without being investigated or without being certain of its accuracy; exaggerated sound and images, or effects and music other than natural sound, may not be used in the presentation of news; it is mandatory to indicate the archive or re-enactment character of footage and to state the source of news obtained from agencies or from another media source. — Article 32(2) group
• (k) May not be one-sided or partisan with regard to political parties and democratic groups. — Article 32(2) group
• (p) Surveys and opinion polls conducted by or on behalf of the media service provider must be carried out under the supervision of a notary from the preparatory stage through to the announcement of the results. — Article 32(2) group

5) Crime, violence and terrorism

• (a) May not be contrary to the existence and independence of the Republic of Turkey, to the indivisible integrity of the State with its territory and nation, or to the principles and reforms of Atatürk. — Article 32(1), serious group; within the repeat-offence aggravation in Article 32(5)
• (d) May not praise or encourage terrorism, may not portray terrorist organisations as strong or justified, and may not be such as to reflect the intimidating and coercive characteristics of terrorist organisations. (The second sentence of this sub-paragraph was repealed in 2017.) — Article 32(1), serious group; within the repeat-offence aggravation in Article 32(5)
• (t) May not present a terrorist act, its perpetrators or its victims in a manner that produces results serving the aims of terrorism. — Article 32(1), serious group. The difference from sub-paragraph (d): (d) concerns praise, encouragement and justification; (t) concerns a form of presentation that serves the aim of terrorism.
• (g) May not be such as to praise the commission of offences, offenders and criminal organisations, or to teach criminal techniques. — Article 32(1), serious group
• (ş) May not encourage violence or make it appear normal. — Article 32(1), serious group
• (h) May not be such as to encourage the use of addictive substances such as alcohol, tobacco products and narcotics, or gambling. — Article 32(1), serious group. This sub-paragraph governs programme content; the advertising ban on alcohol and tobacco is separately in Article 11(1).

6) Private life and personality rights

• (ç) May not be contrary to the principle of respect for human dignity and for the privacy of private life, and may not contain expressions that belittle, humiliate or defame persons or organisations beyond the limits of criticism. — Article 32(2) group. This is one of the sub-paragraphs most frequently caught in pre-broadcast review; the test applied is the "limits of criticism" test.
• (i) No one may be declared guilty or portrayed as guilty unless their guilt has been established by a final judicial decision; in matters that have come before the courts, the broadcast may not, during the proceedings, be such as to affect the trial process and its impartiality, other than as news. — Article 32(2) group. In practice: instead of unproven labels such as "murderer", "thief" or "fraudster", use "suspect", "defendant" or "alleged".

7) Other principles

• (j) May not contain elements serving unfair interests or giving rise to unfair competition. — Article 32(2) group
• (l) May not encourage conduct harmful to public health or to the protection of the environment and animals. — Article 32(2) group
• (m) Must ensure that Turkish is used correctly, well and intelligibly, without corrupting its characteristics and rules; low-quality, coarse and slang use of the language may not be given place. — Article 32(2) group. The wording also prohibits "low-quality and coarse" usage; bleeping profanity may not on its own be regarded as sufficient.
• (ö) May not contain competitions or lotteries by means of information and communication devices, and prizes may not be given to listeners and viewers, nor may the giving of prizes be facilitated. — Article 32(1), serious group
• (r) May not exploit people through fortune-telling or superstition. — Article 32(2) group

Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of Article 8

Article 8(2) — protection of children and young people: "In radio and television media services, programmes containing content of a kind that may harm the physical, mental or moral development of children and young people may not be broadcast during the time slots when they may watch them, even if a protective symbol is used."

Article 8(3) — on-demand media services: providers of on-demand media services are obliged to ensure that media services of a kind that may adversely affect the physical, mental or moral development of children and young people are offered in such a way that those persons would not, in the ordinary course, hear or see such services. This is the statutory basis for parental locks, PINs and separate child profiles on VOD platforms.

Article 8(4) — dating formats, health claims and premium-rate lines (added in 2017): in radio and television media services, place may not be given to programmes of the kind in which people are introduced to and/or brought together with one another for the purpose of finding a partner; to the sale, marketing and/or advertising of any product — including food supplements and similar supporting products — with a health claim contrary to the relevant legislation; or to the promotion of chat, friendship and partner-finding lines and services. Prizes and awards may not be promised under the names of competitions, draws, lotteries and the like in a manner that misleads viewers and listeners and/or gives rise to unjust enrichment through the use of premium-rate electronic communication service numbers, local-rate numbers and other specially charged numbers, nor may products be promoted, sold or marketed by that method. Article 8(4) is in the serious sanction group and is cited alongside sub-paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) in the repeat-offence aggravation.

Article 32: The Sanction Tiers

Article 32 consists of eleven paragraphs and divides breaches into two groups. The penalty base is not a fixed sum but a rate calculated on gross commercial communication revenue for the month preceding the month in which the breach was established; there is also a minimum amount that varies with the type of enterprise.

The final sentence of Article 32(1) gives the Supreme Council flexibility: depending on the nature of the breach, it may decide on an administrative fine together with an administrative measure, or on the fine alone, or on the measure alone. Under Article 32(3), even where the breach also constitutes a criminal offence, the administrative sanction is applied without being conditional on an investigation or prosecution — that is, RTÜK does not wait for the outcome of criminal proceedings.

Repeat-offence tiers (Art. 32(5))

PATH A — Art. 8(1) sub-paragraphs (a), (b), (d) + Art. 8(4)
  1st breach      -> 2-5% administrative fine + suspension of the programme up to 5 times
  |
  +-- Repetition of the SAME breach within 1 YEAR of notification of the sanction decision
  |     -> THE ENTERPRISE'S BROADCASTS ARE SUSPENDED FOR UP TO 10 DAYS
  |
  +-- Second repetition
        -> REVOCATION OF THE BROADCASTING LICENCE

PATH B — sub-paragraphs other than (a), (b), (d) + Art. 8(2) + commercial communication provisions
  A fine on each breach (2-5% or 1-3%, depending on the sub-paragraph)
  |
  +-- MORE THAN 20 breaches within 1 YEAR of notification of the sanction decision
  |     -> BROADCASTS SUSPENDED FOR UP TO 5 DAYS
  |
  +-- Repetition of the SAME breach within 1 year
  |     -> BROADCASTS SUSPENDED FOR 5 TO 10 DAYS
  |
  +-- Second repetition of the breach
        -> REVOCATION OF THE BROADCASTING LICENCE

PATH C — FAILURE TO COMPLY WITH THE DECISION
  Where an enterprise whose programme or broadcasts have been suspended for a period
  continues to broadcast contrary to the requirements of the decision despite
  notification of the sanction decision
        -> DIRECT REVOCATION OF THE BROADCASTING LICENCE

Article 32(4) — the two separate consequences of a suspension decision: first, in place of the suspended programme, public-interest programmes supplied by the Supreme Council are broadcast in the same slot and without commercial communication. Second, and most often overlooked: the producer of the programme or, where there is one, the presenter who is responsible for the act giving rise to the sanction may not make or present any other programme under any name whatsoever, at the same or a different media service provider, for the duration of the suspension. The penalty therefore creates a temporary industry-wide bar on working for the presenter; you cannot simply move the programme to another channel.

Article 32(6) — loss of a licence condition: where one of the conditions required for the licence is lost, or where the imprint and notification obligation in Article 6(5) is not complied with, the enterprise is given 30 days; if the defect is not remedied within that period, broadcasts are suspended for 3 months; if it is still not remedied within that time, the licence is revoked and the use of the channel and frequency is terminated. Under Article 32(7), the licence of an enterprise found to have obtained compliance with the licence conditions by deception is revoked, and the licence fee paid and the annual channel and frequency usage fee are not refunded.

The Limit of the Power to Warn: Article 32(8)

This is the point most frequently misunderstood in the industry. The Supreme Council's power to issue a warning instead of a fine was added by Decree-Law No. 690 of 17/4/2017 (adopted without change by Law No. 7077) and is a narrow power. The wording of the provision permits a warning only "on one occasion only for each breach specified in the second paragraph".

• A warning may be issued only for breaches within the scope of Article 32(2). No warning may be issued for the serious group — sub-paragraphs (a), (b), (d), (f), (g), (ğ), (h), (n), (ö), (s), (ş), (t) and Article 8(4) — where a fine and/or an administrative measure is applied directly.
• A warning is available on one occasion only for each type of breach. When the same type of breach occurs a second time, the warning option closes.
• In issuing a warning the Supreme Council takes into account: the gravity of the breach, the existence of unjust economic gain, the existence of repetition, and the administrative sanctions applied over the past five years.
• Warning decisions too are served, under Article 32(10), on the registered electronic mail address the enterprise has notified to the Supreme Council.

A Separate Tier for Breach of a Publication Ban: Article 7(4)

Breach of a publication ban has been taken out of the general regime of Article 32 and given its own tier in Article 7(4) of Law No. 6112 (added by Decree-Law No. 680 of 2/1/2017 and adopted without change by Law No. 7072). The provision covers publication bans and restrictions imposed both under Article 7 of Law No. 6112 and under Press Law No. 5187.

• First breach: the broadcast of the media service provider's programmes is suspended for one day; in that case Article 32(4) applies (public-interest programming in its place + the bar on the producer/presenter).
• Repetition of the breach within one year: suspension of broadcasts for up to five days.
• A second repetition: suspension of broadcasts for up to fifteen days.
• A third repetition: revocation of the broadcasting licence.

Protection of Children and the Protective Symbol

Article 3(1)(j) of Law No. 6112 defines the protective symbol as: "the common symbols used by media service providers for the purpose of informing viewers about the content of the media service." Under Article 24(1), media service providers inform viewers about the content of their programme services orally or in writing, using a protective symbol system. Under Article 24(3), this article applies to TRT as well.

The other provisions concerning children are scattered and must each be checked separately: Article 8(1)(ğ) (prohibition on the exploitation of children and on encouraging violence), Article 8(2) (time-slot restriction), Article 8(3) (access restriction on VOD), Article 9(6)(ç) (child-protection principles for commercial communication), Article 9(7) (prohibition on advertising unhealthy food and drink alongside or within children's programmes), Article 10(7) (in a children's programme, at most 1 interruption per 30 minutes), Article 13(4) (prohibition on product placement in children's programmes). In addition, under Article 14(3), where cartoons are included in children's broadcasts, at least 20% of the cartoons and at least 40% of other children's programmes must be productions made in the Turkish language and must reflect Turkish culture; statistics on the times and durations of children's broadcasts and information on where they were produced are reported to the Supreme Council in monthly breakdowns.

Commercial Communication Check (Arts. 9-13)

Breaches of the commercial communication rules fall within Article 32(2), but under Article 32(5) more than twenty breaches of any of the commercial communication provisions within one year opens the broadcast-suspension tier directly. That is why the advertising operation has to be monitored as closely as the broadcasting principles.

• Distinguishability and honesty: commercial communication must be readily distinguishable, visually and aurally, from the other elements of the broadcast (Article 9(1)); subliminal techniques may not be used (Article 9(2)); surreptitious commercial communication is not permitted (Article 9(3)).
• Bar on news presenters: the image or voice of persons who regularly present news bulletins and news programmes may not be used in commercial communication (Article 9(4)).
• Editorial independence: commercial communication may not be used in a way that affects the editorial independence of the media service provider or the content of the programme (Article 9(5)).
• Sound level: the sound level of commercial communication broadcasts must be the same as that of the other parts of the broadcast (Article 9(8)).
• Advertising time: excluding teleshopping, the proportion of advertising within the broadcast from one clock hour to the next may not exceed 20% (Article 10(2)). The broadcaster's own programme promotions may not exceed 5% in the same slot (Article 10(3)). Programme sponsorship, self-promotion of programmes and product placement are not included in the 20% (Article 10(3)). Public service announcements broadcast free of charge and recommended by the Supreme Council are not counted in advertising time (Article 10(5)).
• Teleshopping: may be carried on for an uninterrupted period of at least 15 minutes; may not exceed a total of 1 hour per day (Article 10(4)).
• Interruption limit: films made for cinema and television, news bulletins and children's programmes may, where the scheduled broadcast time exceeds 30 minutes, be interrupted once by advertising and teleshopping for each 30 minutes of broadcast time (Article 10(7)).
• Religious services: advertising and teleshopping may not be inserted in any way into the broadcast of a religious service (Article 10(8)); programme sponsorship is not permitted in broadcasts of religious services and news bulletins (Article 12(4)); product placement is prohibited in religious programmes (Article 13(4)).
• Product placement: permitted only in films made for cinema and television, in series, and in sports and general entertainment programmes (Article 13(1)); prohibited in news bulletins, children's programmes and religious programmes (Article 13(4)). Viewers are clearly informed of the presence of product placement at the beginning and end of the programme, and when the programme resumes after an advertising break (Article 13(3)).
• Programme sponsorship: the sponsorship is indicated by appropriate wording at the beginning of the programme, on entering and leaving the advertising breaks within it, and at its end; the sponsor may not be referred to in programme promotions (Article 12(1)). In sponsored programmes no reference may be made to the goods and services of the sponsor or of a third party, and their purchase, sale or hire may not be encouraged (Article 12(2)).

The Viewer Representative and Operational Obligations

Viewer rights are not gathered in a single article of Law No. 6112, and a common error is to attribute them to Article 31 — Article 31 governs political advertising. The viewer representative is in Article 22: media service providers appoint a viewer representative with at least ten years' professional experience, for the purpose of establishing co-regulation and self-regulation mechanisms, of assessing complaints received from viewers and listeners and submitting them to the enterprise's broadcasting board, and of following up the outcome. The representative appointed is announced to the public by appropriate means and notified to the Supreme Council.

• Imprint and notification (Art. 6(5)): the imprint, contact and address details, the registered electronic mail address and the name and contact details of the viewer representative are notified to the Supreme Council and published on the website. Breach is subject to the tier in Article 32(6): 30 days to remedy, then 3 months' suspension of broadcasts, then revocation of the licence.
• Broadcast recordings (Art. 25(1)): private media service providers retain a recording of every broadcast for one year. Natural and legal persons may, within that period, apply in writing and obtain a copy of the recording on payment of a fee determined by the Supreme Council. If the Supreme Council requests it, the recording is delivered within ten days of notification (Article 25(2)). Where a broadcast has become the subject of an investigation or prosecution, the recording must be retained until the competent authorities give written notice that the proceedings have concluded (Article 25(3)).
• The sanction for a recording breach is criminal: a responsible editor who fails to retain recordings for one year, or to deliver them on time and in their original form, is punished under Article 33(3) with a judicial fine of one thousand to five thousand days; where recordings are falsified, excised or erased, the punishment under Article 33(4) is a judicial fine of five thousand to ten thousand days.
• Responsible editor (Art. 46): liability arising from a broadcast rests with the responsible editor together with the person directing the broadcast or making the programme. The responsible editor must be a Turkish citizen, must hold a higher education qualification in the case of national and regional broadcasters, must be resident in Turkey, and must not be barred from public service or under legal incapacity.
• News unit staff (Art. 23): the Supreme Council determines the minimum number of press card holders to be employed in news units, and that staff are subject to Press Labour Act No. 5953 — meaning their severance, notice, overtime and leave entitlements operate under the journalism regime. For how to structure the contract, see our Law No. 5953-compliant journalist employment contract template.
• Reply and correction (Art. 18(1)): the text is broadcast, without any correction or addition, within seven days at the latest of the date of receipt, at the time and in the programme in which the broadcast subject to the reply and correction was made. If the programme has been taken off air or its broadcast suspended, the right is exercised within seven days at the broadcast time of that programme. For how to draft the text, see our sample reply and correction petition.

A Tick-Box Pre-Broadcast Checklist

The list below is set out so that an editor can work through it item by item before putting a programme to air. Each question cites the sub-paragraph or paragraph it rests on; if you cannot answer "no" to a question, that content is not ready for broadcast.

A) SERIOUS GROUP — Art. 32(1): 2-5% fine + suspension of the programme up to 5 times; NO WARNING
[ ] Is there any statement or image contrary to the existence, independence and
    integrity of the State, or to the principles and reforms of Atatürk?     (a)  [repeat: licence revocation path]
[ ] Is there incitement to hatred and hostility, or the generation of hatred, by
    drawing distinctions of race, language, religion, sex, class, region or sect?  (b)  [repeat: licence revocation path]
[ ] Is there praise or encouragement of terrorism, justification of an organisation,
    or reflection of its intimidating character?                             (d)  [repeat: licence revocation path]
[ ] Is a terrorist act, its perpetrator or its victim presented in a way that
    serves the aims of terrorism?                                            (t)
[ ] Is there anything contrary to national and moral values, public morals or the
    principle of the protection of the family?                               (f)
[ ] Is an offence, an offender or a criminal organisation praised, or a criminal
    technique taught?                                                        (g)
[ ] Is there exploitation of children, the vulnerable or persons with disabilities,
    or encouragement of violence?                                            (ğ)
[ ] Are alcohol, tobacco, narcotics or gambling encouraged?                   (h)
[ ] Is there obscene content?                                                 (n)
[ ] Is there a competition/lottery by means of information and communication
    devices, or a prize given to viewers, or facilitation of one?            (ö)
[ ] Is there any treatment running counter to gender equality, encouraging
    pressure against women, or exploiting women?                             (s)
[ ] Is violence encouraged or made to appear normal?                          (ş)
[ ] Is there a dating/partner-finding format, a product sale with a health claim,
    or a prize promised through a premium-rate line?                      (Art. 8(4)) [repeat: licence revocation path]

B) OTHER BREACHES — Art. 32(2): 1-3% fine; a ONE-OFF warning is possible for each type of breach
[ ] Is there anything contrary to the rule of law, justice and impartiality?  (c)
[ ] Is human dignity or the privacy of private life infringed? Is there any
    belittling, humiliating or defamatory expression going beyond the limits
    of criticism?                                                            (ç)
[ ] Is there any narrative that discriminates against or humiliates individuals?  (e)
[ ] Was the story investigated, and is its accuracy certain?                  (ı)
[ ] Does the story use exaggerated sound/images, or effects or music other than
    natural sound?                                                           (ı)
[ ] Is archive footage labelled ARCHIVE and re-enactment labelled RE-ENACTMENT?   (ı)
[ ] Is the source stated for news obtained from an agency or another media
    source?                                                                  (ı)
[ ] Is anyone declared guilty without a final judicial decision? Is there
    commentary on a pending case capable of affecting the proceedings?       (i)
[ ] Is there any element serving unfair interests or giving rise to unfair
    competition?                                                             (j)
[ ] Is there one-sidedness as regards political parties and democratic groups?    (k)
[ ] Is conduct harmful to public health, the environment or animals
    encouraged?                                                              (l)
[ ] Is there low-quality, coarse or slang use of language?                    (m)
[ ] Has the right of reply and correction been respected?                     (o)
[ ] Was a survey commissioned by the channel conducted under notarial
    supervision from preparation through to announcement?                    (p)
[ ] Is there exploitation of people through fortune-telling or superstition?      (r)
[ ] Is harmful content scheduled in a time slot when children may be watching?
    (A protective symbol DOES NOT lift this prohibition.)               (Art. 8(2))
[ ] In the VOD catalogue, is harmful content offered in such a way that children
    would not, in the ordinary course, hear or see it?                  (Art. 8(3))

C) COMMERCIAL COMMUNICATION
[ ] Does the advertising proportion from clock hour to clock hour exceed 20%?  (Art. 10(2))
[ ] Does self-promotion exceed 5% in the same slot?                        (Art. 10(3))
[ ] Is a teleshopping window shorter than 15 uninterrupted minutes, or longer
    than 1 hour in total per day?                                        (Art. 10(4))
[ ] Is there more than one interruption per 30 minutes in a film, news bulletin
    or children's programme?                                             (Art. 10(7))
[ ] Has advertising/teleshopping been inserted into a religious service
    broadcast?                                                           (Art. 10(8))
[ ] Is there commercial communication for alcohol or tobacco?             (Art. 11(1))
[ ] Is there commercial communication for prescription medicines or
    treatments?                                                          (Art. 11(2))
[ ] Is there teleshopping for medicines or medical treatment?             (Art. 11(4))
[ ] Has a news presenter's image or voice been used in advertising?        (Art. 9(4))
[ ] Is there surreptitious commercial communication or a subliminal
    technique?                                                    (Arts. 9(3), 9(2))
[ ] Is there advertising of unhealthy food or drink alongside or within a
    children's programme?                                                 (Art. 9(7))
[ ] Is product placement confined to films, series, sports or general
    entertainment programmes? Is there any in news, children's or religious
    programmes?                                                 (Arts. 13(1), 13(4))
[ ] Has the product placement disclosure been made at all three points: start of
    the programme, end of the programme, and return from the advertising
    break?                                                               (Art. 13(3))
[ ] Is the advertising sound level the same as the programme sound level?   (Art. 9(8))

D) OPERATIONAL
[ ] Is the broadcast recording retained for one year?    (Art. 25(1); criminal penalty Art. 33(3))
[ ] Has a responsible editor been appointed, and do they meet the conditions in
    Art. 46(3)?                                                          (Art. 46(3))
[ ] Has a viewer representative with at least 10 years' experience been appointed,
    announced to the public and notified to RTÜK?                        (Art. 22(1))
[ ] Are the imprint, KEP address and viewer representative details up to date on
    the website and in the RTÜK record?                                   (Art. 6(5))
[ ] Was a reply and correction text received broadcast within 7 days, at the same
    time and in the same programme, unaltered?                           (Art. 18(1))

When a Penalty Is Served: You Have 15 Days

Under Article 32(9) of Law No. 6112, administrative sanction decisions are challenged before the courts in accordance with Administrative Procedure Law No. 2577; but proceedings before the administrative court must be brought within fifteen days of the date the decision is served. The general 60-day period does not apply here. In addition, under the same paragraph, the bringing of annulment proceedings does not suspend enforcement of the decision. Under Article 47(3), the Ankara administrative courts have jurisdiction over proceedings brought against the Supreme Council.

• Service: warnings and administrative sanction decisions are served on the registered electronic mail address the enterprise has notified to the Supreme Council; if service on the KEP address cannot be effected for a compelling reason, notification sent to the address notified to the Supreme Council takes the place of service (Article 32(10)). Keeping the KEP address live is therefore procedurally critical.
• Payment: the administrative fines provided for in the Law are paid within one month of service (Article 32(11)).
• Unlicensed broadcasting: natural persons, and the board members and general manager of legal persons, who broadcast without a licence or despite the temporary suspension of their broadcasts or the revocation of their licence, are punished under Article 33(1) with imprisonment of one to two years and a judicial fine of one thousand to five thousand days; broadcasting equipment and installations continuing to operate without authorisation are sealed and closed down by the Supreme Council.

The Next Step

Where the same organisation both operates a television channel and publishes an internet news website, two separate regimes run at the same time; we separate out which law applies to which content in our medium-by-medium decision tree. For the imprint, declaration and content retention obligations on the internet news website side, see our legal compliance checklist for internet news websites; and to reach the texts in force of the provisions cited in this article, see our guide to official legislative sources.