Turkiye: Main developments in competition law and policy 2024

2024 saw a number of significant investigations, fines and new frameworks that addressed emerging issues in Turkiye’s competition law. The Turkish Competition Authority (TCA) is committed to fostering competition in various sectors. From resale-price maintenance (RPM) to labor market agreements, to the regulation of online marketplaces. This short article outlines and summarizes the most notable competition law developments in Turkiye in 2024, focusing on the relevant cases and legislative updates.

Resale Price Maintenance Cases and Settlements

Resale price maintenance remained a recurring theme in TCA’s enforcement efforts in 2024. Key examples underscoring the TCA’s stringent stance on interventions that limit retailers’ pricing freedom include the following sectors:

• White appliances, consumer electronics: the TCA concluded its investigation into Electrolux, finding that the company engaged in RPM. The TCA imposed a fine of approximately EUR 820,000. The fine was increased to EUR 820,000 due to Electrolux’s pressure on other companies. The fine was increased due to Electrolux’s coercion of other undertakings into the violation.
• Food and beverages: The TCA fined Nestle approx. EUR 11,95 million was fined for RPM and imposing customer and territorial restrictions on distributors. The investigation concluded that Nestle controlled sales prices, restricted distributor sales territories, and imposed active/passive sales prohibitions in violation of Article 4 of the Turkish Competition Law (equivalent of Art 101 TFEU).
• Cosmetics: Investigations into online sales restrictions and RPM, with Abko fined approx. EUR 0.2 million despite commitments resolving some competitive concerns.
• Cleaning products (paper, wet wipes, etc): Viking Kagit was fined approx. RPM was fined EUR 302,443. This is with a 15% reduction applied due to the settlement.

Focus on Labor Market Competition

Labor markets emerged as a critical area of focus, reflecting a global trend in antitrust enforcement. The TCA released Guidelines on Competition Infringements on Labor Markets to address practices such as wage-fixing and no-poach arrangements. Both are deemed analogous to cartel behavior, as these agreements restrict employee mobility and undermine competition.

The Guidelines clarify enforcement priorities for wage-fixing, no-poaching, and information exchanges. The Guidelines outline criteria for exemptions under Article 5 and stress that labor-related restrictions in main agreements must be necessary and proportional.

Among the key cases in 2024 is the IT Sector decision (24-10/170-66) on no-poaching agreements. The TCA investigated the matter and imposed a fine of approximately EUR 5.3 million. The TCA imposed an administrative fine of approximately EUR 5.3 Million on 8 companies operating in the sector of information technologies. No violation was found in relation to the remaining 12 undertakings that were party to the investigation.

Digital Market Oversight and Algorithmic Practices

Digital marketplaces and tech giants were significant focuses of the TCA’s enforcement in 2024:

• Google’s matters: In 2024, the TCA issued several significant decisions regarding Google. The TCA announced on 16 May that it had imposed daily fines of approximately EUR 13.7 millions for Google’s failure to comply with obligations relating to local search and accommodation comparison services. The fines were cancelled on 21 May, after Google made the necessary changes to its local search services for hotel inquiries. The TCA concluded its investigation into Google’s search services on 4 July. It found no abuse of Google’s dominant position and therefore imposed no fines. On 12 December, however, the TCA found Google to be guilty of abusing their dominant position in the market for publisher ad servers by favoring its supply-side platform services, resulting in an unprecedented fine of TRY 2,6 billion (approx. EUR 75 million).
• Trendyol’s self-preferencing practices: Trendyol faced a fine of TRY 61.3 million (approx. The TCA also required Trendyol to implement technical safeguards to ensure fair competition. Additionally, the TCA required Trendyol to implement technical safeguards to ensure fair competition.
• Algorithmic pricing adjustments: The TCA addressed concerns about Trendyol‘s and Hepsiburada‘s automatic pricing mechanisms. After an investigation into automated price mechanisms, both platforms committed themselves to removing the option “Equalize To Buybox Price” and ensuring their algorithms don’t favor sellers who use these mechanisms. Compliance reports will be submitted annually to the TCA.

These cases highlight the TCA’s proactive approach to regulating digital platforms and fostering competition in technology-driven markets.

Merger Control Developments

The TCA’s 2024 merger control activities were defined by its focus on technology undertakings. Communique No. This ensures that mergers in dynamic and innovation-driven sectors such as digital platforms, software, biotechnology, and health technologies are adequately scrutinized. This ensures that mergers in dynamic and innovation-driven sectors such as digital platforms, software, biotechnology, and health technologies are adequately scrutinized.Key 2024 cases exemplify this trend:

Software and Cybersecurity: The TCA reviewed mergers involving companies offering advanced scheduling, cyber-physical security solutions, and cloud-based customer experience platforms (e.g., ICRON

• , TRAPMINE, QUALTRICS).Digital Platforms: Transactions in sectors such as online marketplaces, mobile applications, and cryptocurrency exchanges were closely examined. Notable examples include acquisitions of KAHOOT
• (online learning software) and H3C (cloud programming and industrial networking).Health Technologies and Biotechnology: Mergers in areas like medical devices, pharmaceutical R&D, and AI-driven healthcare solutions were subject to TCA review. For instance, cases involving companies like COMPUGROUP MEDICAL
• and TRIMBLE SOLUTIONS highlighted the breadth of technological innovation under scrutiny.These developments demonstrate the TCA’s commitment to addressing the complexities of technology-driven markets while ensuring compliance with evolving competition policies. Companies in these sectors should carefully evaluate their merger strategies to ensure they meet the TCA’s strict standards. The TCA’s Strategic Plan 2024-2028

emphasizes digital and green transformation, aligning with global trends towards sustainability and innovation. It also considers allowing non-compete agreements exceeding five years for resellers, if manufacturers commit significant environmental investments. Additionally, the plan highlights the potential for redefining relevant product markets in the automotive sector to reflect advancements and developments in the electric vehicle market, ensuring alignment with emerging green technologies.

In a notable step toward fostering innovation and sustainability, the TCA provided reasoned decision to the granted individual exemptions for two significant collaborations aimed at developing Turkiye’s electric vehicle (EV) charging network. These exemptions were granted to partnerships between Trugo, a subsidiary of Turkiye’s indigenous electric vehicle producer, Togg, and Shell

as well as between Togg & Bosch. They reflect the TCA’s recognition of the benefits of these initiatives in terms of promoting EV adoption, reducing carbon emissions, and accelerating Turkiye’s transition to cleaner solutions. These decisions set a vital precedent for future collaborations in Turkiye’s energy and automotive sectors, showcasing how businesses can foster innovation within the framework of competition law.

Legislative Updates

Several regulatory advancements complemented the TCA’s enforcement actions in 2024, with particular attention to labor markets and digital platform regulations:DMA Amendments in Progress: The long-anticipated amendments

to align Turkish competition law with the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) remain in draft form. These amendments are intended to create a framework that addresses gatekeeper behavior in digital markets and fosters fair competition. They are expected to enhance the TCA’s toolkit for regulating dominant digital platforms, but their adoption is still pending final approval.

Guidelines on Labor Markets Adopted: The TCA officially adopted the Guidelines on Competition Infringements in Labor Markets

. These Guidelines clarify enforcement priorities, and provide a framework for assessing anticompetitive practices, such as wage-fixing, no-poach, and information exchanges. The Guidelines focus on practices that restrict the mobility of workers and provide detailed criteria for ancillary restrictions. The document also stresses the importance of competitive labor markets, and that agreements affecting employee movement are similar to cartels. This makes them violations by object. The new Regulation on Fines replaces a 15-year old framework. It no longer bases the base fine rate on whether the employer is a competitor in the output market or not. Instead, it now considers the nature and adverse effects of the violation on competition. The lower and higher limits of fines, based on the distinction made between “cartels”, and “other violations”, have also been removed. The time intervals for calculating increases based on duration of the offense have also been shortened in order to reflect more accurately the objective conditions of a violation. The lower limit of increases due to aggravating and lower and upper limits of reductions due to reducing factors have been removed. This aims to penalize competition violations harming consumer welfare more effectively and deter potential future violations.

• Public Procurement and AI Collaboration: The TCA signed a landmark protocol with the Public Procurement Authority (PPA) to leverage AI tools in detecting anti-competitive behaviors in public procurement. The PPA and TCA will use AI technologies to combat possible violations, according to the protocol. This includes strengthening data analyses in procurement processes and developing new tools to detect violations. This expanded collaboration aims to enhance the effectiveness of public procurement processes, ensuring greater transparency and compliance with competition laws.
• Conclusion

• The competition law developments in Turkiye throughout 2024 reflect a proactive and forward-thinking approach by the TCA to address both traditional and emerging challenges in the market. The TCA’s proactive role in fostering innovation and fair competition is highlighted by its focus on fostering a fair and competitive market, regulating dynamic markets like digital markets and aligning itself with global trends such as sustainability and labor market protection. These developments will provide a solid basis for the continued advancement of competition policy in the region.

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