The Law's administrative sanctions are in Art. 32 and its criminal sanctions in Art. 33. The two operate independently of each other.
Unlicensed Broadcasting - Art. 33/1
Natural persons, and the members of the board of directors and the general manager of legal persons, who broadcast without having obtained a broadcasting licence from the Supreme Council, or despite their broadcasts having been temporarily suspended by the Supreme Council or their broadcasting licence revoked, are punished by imprisonment of one to two years and a judicial fine of from one thousand to five thousand days.
| Element | Content |
|---|---|
| The act | Broadcasting without a licence, while the broadcast is temporarily suspended or after the licence has been revoked |
| The offender | Natural persons and the members of the board of directors and the general manager of legal persons |
| Imprisonment | One to two years |
| Judicial fine | One thousand to five thousand days |
| Legal person | The security measures in Art. 60 of Turkish Penal Code No. 5237 are also applied |
| Equipment | Broadcasting equipment and installations continuing to operate without permission are sealed and closed by the Supreme Council |
Broadcasting Outside the Licence Type - Art. 33/2
Media service providers that broadcast outside the licence type despite having a broadcasting licence, or that establish transmitter installations without permission among organisations continuing their broadcasts within the scope of provisional Art. 4, are warned by the Supreme Council, and the provision of the first paragraph is applied to those who continue to broadcast without permission despite the warning given.
Not Keeping Broadcast Recordings - Art. 33/3
Tampering with Recordings - Art. 33/4
Where the recordings sent are not, in terms of content, the broadcast requested, or where operations such as tampering, removal or deletion have been carried out on the recordings, the responsible editor of private media service provider organisations is punished by a judicial fine of from five thousand to ten thousand days.
| Act | Penalty | Offender |
|---|---|---|
| Not keeping the recording for one year | A judicial fine of 1,000-5,000 days | The responsible editor |
| Not delivering within the period and in conformity with the original despite a request | A judicial fine of 1,000-5,000 days | The responsible editor |
| The recording not being the broadcast requested, or tampering, removal or deletion | A judicial fine of 5,000-10,000 days | The responsible editor |
We cover the recording obligation in the retention guide and the request deadline guide.
Its Difference from the Administrative Sanction
| Art. 32 - administrative | Art. 33 - criminal | |
|---|---|---|
| Deciding authority | The Supreme Council | A court |
| Sanction | An administrative fine, programme suspension, revocation of the licence | Imprisonment and a judicial fine |
| Addressee | The media service provider organisation | Natural persons, members of the board of directors, the general manager, the responsible editor |
| Route of recourse | The administrative court under Law No. 2577 - fifteen days | Criminal procedure |
A Separate Route in Internet Broadcasting
For unlicensed internet broadcasting, Art. 29/A/2 provides a separate procedure: on the request of the Supreme Council a magistrates' criminal judge may, within twenty-four hours and without holding a hearing, decide on the removal of the content and/or the blocking of access.
We cover the detail in the internet broadcasting guide.
The Responsible Editor - Art. 46
The addressee of the penalties in Arts. 33/3 and /4 is the responsible editor. The regime of responsibility and of the responsible editor is governed in Art. 46; we cover the detail in the responsible editor guide.
Summary
Art. 33 of Law No. 6112 ties four acts to criminal sanctions. Broadcasting without a licence, while the broadcast is suspended or after the licence has been revoked: imprisonment of one to two years and a judicial fine of from one thousand to five thousand days; in addition the equipment and installations are sealed and closed. Not keeping or not delivering broadcast recordings requires a judicial fine of one to five thousand days for the responsible editor, and tampering with recordings five to ten thousand days.