Facebook Closes Advertising Accounts of Many Businesses in Turkey

Closing Facebook Ad Accounts with Confidence

During the last quarter of 2020, Facebook began to close the advertising accounts of many businesses. If your Facebook ad account has been closed, I recommend that you read this article in its entirety. Even if it has not been deactivated, it is important to prepare yourself.

Now what happened, let’s go back in time.

Although it was extensively discussed in 2020, the social media law, which was a joint effort of AKP and MHP, came into force on October 1st. According to this law, foreign-based social network providers such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, with daily access exceeding 1 million from Turkey, are required to appoint at least one representative in Turkey.

Facebook’s Delegation Status

Following the implementation of this regulation and Facebook’s announcement that it would not be able to appoint a representative, the advertising accounts of the affected businesses started to be closed one by one.

So, what is the state planning to do?

* In October, BTK took decisive action by creating a warning list and sending legal notices to companies, firmly urging them to fulfill their responsibility by appointing a representative in Turkey.

* In the next stage, which will take place in November, if they fail to comply, they will face an administrative fine of 10 million TL. If there is still no response, a fine of 30 million TL will be imposed in December. This is the process that will be followed.

Here is the part that interests us: January 2021. Advertising bans begin in January 2021 and we are facing a process that will lead to a narrowing of internet bandwidth as of April. This means that Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Twitter will no longer open as quickly as before.

Furthermore, the recent resignation of the former Treasury and Finance Minister of the country, Berat Albayrak, via Instagram, and the consistent support of troll teams, demonstrate the vital role these platforms play in their strategy.

Putting aside the political aspect, social media ads have become almost indispensable for businesses. It is concerning to think that we may not be able to advertise on these platforms, which offer the potential to generate significant revenue with relatively low advertising budgets, especially for e-commerce ads.

“Low advertising budget and high revenue” is extremely important for Turkish companies at present. Despite their quality, Turkish companies unfortunately cannot operate under the same conditions as European or American companies. As a result, many people prefer to establish their companies abroad rather than in Turkey. Additionally, many unnecessary payments are made by Turkish companies due to prohibitions and a lack of withholding tax and deductions. The most recent example is Google’s extra 5% commission on ad spend. It is difficult for companies to succeed under these conditions. Taxation is another issue altogether.

Don’t be surprised if one day you log into your ad account and come across an image like the one above.

What can be done for closed Facebook ads?

If your Facebook advertising account has been closed and you need support, you can contact our company Joykek for assistance. We specialize in advertising on social media for e-commerce companies and can provide detailed analysis and consulting to help you overcome these bans. Contact me today for prompt assistance.