Turkey’s Constitutional Court has annulled a legal provision granting the country’s Press Advertisement Agency (BİK) the authority to cut public ads and announcements for up to two months from newspapers, magazines and online news outlets, citing a lack of clear legal criteria for such sanctions.
The ruling, published in the Official Gazette on Oct. 13, 2025, declared unconstitutional a clause of Article 49 of the Law on the Organization of the Press Advertisement Agency. The annulled provision—subsection (a)—allowed the agency to halt official ads and public notices for up to two months in cases where publications allegedly violated press ethics or failed to comply with laws, regulations, institutional obligations or decisions issued by the agency’s General Assembly.
The court ruled that the provision lacked sufficient legal clarity and specificity, making it incompatible with constitutional principles. The annulment followed a referral by the 9th Civil Court of First Instance in Istanbul’s Bakırköy district, which had raised concerns over the provision's constitutionality.
The Constitutional Court emphasized that the law did not adequately define which actions by newspapers, magazines, or online news sites would trigger penalties, nor did it provide a framework for how long and to what extent the penalties would apply. The ruling stated:
“The rule does not outline the types of acts and omissions that may warrant sanctions, nor does it provide the Press Advertisement Agency with a clearly defined framework to assess and apply such sanctions. Instead, it grants the agency broad discretionary power through a general reference to the law.”
The court further ruled that requiring civil courts to issue final decisions on BİK’s penalties, without the possibility of appeal, violated the right to a fair trial. That aspect of the regulation was also struck down.
The Press Advertisement Agency is a public body in Turkey responsible for distributing state-funded ads and public notices, which constitute a significant source of revenue for many print and digital media outlets. The agency has faced criticism from press freedom advocates and opposition groups who claim that it uses its authority to penalize critical or independent media.
