Turkey’s Competition Authority has imposed daily administrative fines on the economic unity comprising Alphabet Inc., Google LLC, Google Ireland Limited, Google International LLC, and Google Reklamcılık ve Pazarlama Ltd. Şti. (together referred to as “Google”) for failing to comply with previously mandated obligations aimed at restoring fair competition in the online local search and accommodation price comparison markets.
The decision follows the Competition Board’s earlier ruling on 8 April 2021 (Decision No. 21-20/248-105), which found Google in violation of Article 6 of Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition. In that case, the Board determined that Google had abused its dominant position in general search services by unfairly favoring its own local search results (Local Unit) and Google Hotel Ads (GHA) in search display rankings—thereby hindering rival websites’ visibility and distorting market dynamics.
As a result, Google was fined 296 million TL (almost $9 million USD) and was ordered to implement structural remedies. These obligations included the requirement to display third-party local search and accommodation comparison services on the results page in a manner no less favorable than its own services.
In response, Google submitted design changes intended to comply with the Board’s orders. However, during a follow-up assessment, the Board found that Google had introduced a new feature called “Business Ads”, labelled as “paid sponsored advertisements,” which the Board concluded functioned similarly to the previously problematic local search design elements.
Following a review held on 26 June 2025, the Board ruled (Decision No. 25-23/562-362) that Google’s new “Business Ads” implementation continued to violate the core obligation set in the 2021 decision, particularly the requirement to ensure competitive neutrality within six months of the original ruling.
As a result, the Board decided to impose a daily administrative fine of 0.05% of Google’s 2024 gross revenue, amounting to 355.1 million TL ($10.76 million USD), in accordance with Article 17(1)(a) of the Competition Law.
This latest move shows that Turkey’s Competition Authority is taking a tougher line on Big Tech, making it clear they expect real changes—especially in digital markets where dominant platforms can easily shut out rivals.
The daily fines will continue to accumulate until Google is deemed fully compliant with the Board’s orders.
