Türkiye submits draft law on digital remuneration and online news content

On 10 February 2026, Türkiye’s Grand National Assembly received the draft law “Digital Remuneration and Online News Content” for debate and passage. 

The Draft Law introduces a statutory digital remuneration regime governing the use of online news content by digital platforms and provisions to regulate the economic relationship between digital platforms and press and media organisations with the goal of ensuring transparency, fairness and the sustainability of journalism.

The Draft Law is based on the assessment that the digitalisation of news production, and its distribution and consumption has created a structural imbalance between digital platforms and media organisations. According to the Draft’s preamble, digital platforms derive economic value from online news content through activities including listing, sharing, previewing, summarising, re-presenting and directing users to news sources while press and media organisations often do not receive a fair share of this value. This imbalance poses risks to journalism sustainability, media plurality and the public’s access to reliable information.

Scope of the Draft Law

The Draft Law applies to:

• Digital platforms operating in Türkiye or providing services to Turkish users, including social media, search engines, and content-sharing platforms;

• News and media organisations producing written, visual, audio or digital news content under the Press Law (No. 5187); and
• Activities involving listing, summarising, sharing, previewing, re-presenting, or directing users to news content in a way that creates economic value.

The Draft Law excludes:

• Simple hyperlink sharing without additional elements; and

• Non-commercial or personal user activities that do not generate economic value.

Economic value-generating use includes contributions derived from:

• Advertising, subscriptions, transaction/commission fees, sponsorship, paid promotions, licensing and data-based revenue; and
• User acquisition, retention, engagement or overall platform valuation.

In-scope large digital platforms

The Draft Law applies enhanced obligations only to large digital platforms meeting either of the following two thresholds:

• Annual gross digital service revenue in Türkiye exceeding TRY 100 million; or
• More than 1 million average monthly active users in Türkiye.

These thresholds are updated annually in line with the statutory revaluation rate to account for inflation and market changes. Platforms that do not meet these thresholds may qualify for partial exemptions, including non-commercial or public-interest platforms.

Core obligations

The Draft Law sets out three core obligations applicable to in-scope large digital platforms in relation to the use of online news content:

• Fair negotiation obligation: In-scope large digital platforms must negotiate digital remuneration with media organisations fairly and transparently, provide supporting data, avoid delays or obstruction, and allow collective bargaining under the rules determined by  Türkiye’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK). 
• Digital remuneration payment obligation: In-scope large digital platforms must pay digital remuneration to media organisations for value-creating uses of online news content with amounts based on content costs, engagement, platform economic power, and media scale. Payments are quarterly unless agreed otherwise with a statutory minimum remuneration calculated as a percentage of Türkiye-sourced digital service revenue, which may be increased annually by the BTK within a range of 1% to 3%. BTK is also authorised to determine the procedures governing collective negotiations between digital platforms and media organisations.
• Prohibition of discrimination: In-scope large digital platforms may not discriminate or retaliate against media organisations, including reducing visibility, altering rankings, limiting access or using algorithms to pressure during remuneration negotiations.

Dispute resolution

The Draft Law designates the BTK as the competent authority for implementation and supervision. Disputes concerning digital remuneration are subject to mandatory mediation and, if unresolved, must be referred to a Digital Remuneration Disputes Board to be created within the BTK. Mediation must be completed within 30 days, extendable once by 15 days in mandatory circumstances. If mediation fails, the BTK’s Digital Remuneration Disputes Board must render its decision within 60 days. Board decisions constitute administrative acts and are subject to judicial review before administrative courts.

Transparency obligation

In-scope large digital platforms must annually report to BTK on digital remuneration agreements and algorithmic systems affecting media, including content visibility. Reports may be public while protecting trade secrets, and algorithms cannot be used to pressure media during negotiations.

Enforcement and sanctions

The Draft Law defines violations as avoiding or underpaying digital remuneration, delaying or abusing negotiations, applying discriminatory or retaliatory algorithmic practices affecting visibility or ranking, and providing misleading data or obstructing audits. 

Administrative sanctions include fines of up to 5% of annual Türkiye-sourced digital revenue and up to 10% for systematic violations, retroactive payment of remuneration, suspension of advertising, temporary restrictions on services, and BTK may publicly disclose serious breaches.

Protection of local media and public interest

In distributing digital remuneration under collective remuneration models, priority must be given to local and regional media organisations, public interest journalism activities and content that strengthens public access to information. The BTK may adopt measures to support local and independent media within the framework of transparency and objectivity principles.

Türkiye representation requirement

International digital platforms falling within the scope of the Draft Law must appoint an authorised representative in Türkiye. The representative is responsible for receiving notifications, responding to information and document requests, and ensuring the proper administration of processes under the law. Platforms that have already designated a representative under Law No. 5651 can use the same representative to fulfil this obligation.

International dimension

The Draft Law also addresses the international dimension of the digital remuneration regime, providing that international practice, cooperation and the principle of reciprocity must be taken into consideration in the regime’s implementation. The Draft further enables the competent authority to take international practices and arrangements, including the regimes adopted in the EU and Canada when assessing the scope and application of the regime with a view to ensuring regulatory alignment and avoiding imbalances arising from cross-border digital services. 

Proportionality and exemptions

The Draft Law further allows the competent authority to grant partial exemptions to digital services that do not qualify as large digital platforms, as well as to certain non-commercial or public-interest digital services, based on objective criteria and subject to reasoned decisions. This mechanism reflects a proportionality-based approach, ensuring that the regulatory burden is concentrated on platforms with significant economic power and market impact.

Transitional provisions and entry into force

The competent authority is required to adopt secondary legislation within three months following publication of the Law. Existing agreements must be brought into compliance within one year from the Law’s entry into force. Articles 4 to 20 will enter into force six months after publication while the remaining provisions will take effect upon publication.

Conclusion

The Draft Law introduces a comprehensive statutory framework aimed at rebalancing the economic relationship between in-scope large digital platforms and press and media organisations in the online news ecosystem. By establishing a digital remuneration regime, mandating good-faith negotiations and prohibiting discriminatory practices, the Draft Law seeks to promote transparency, fairness and the sustainability of journalism.

If enacted, the Draft Law will have material implications for in-scope large digital platforms operating in Türkiye, particularly for remuneration practices, negotiation processes and the use of algorithmic systems affecting content visibility and ranking.

For more information on the Draft Law and its potential implications for digital platforms operating in Türkiye, contact the experts who contributed to this article: alican.babalioglu@ybk-av.com, melis.celik@ybk-av.com, and ezgi.bahar@ybk-av.com.