Ep 82: Türkiye’s Competition Law Regime and its Adaptation to Digital Markets

In this episode of In Conversation with IPR & Competition Law, hosts Aditya Trivedi and Sania Bafna are joined by Dr. Erman Ekingen, Assistant Professor of European Union Law at Çukurova University, to unpack the evolving landscape of digital market regulation and antitrust enforcement in Türkiye.The discussion explores the trajectory of Turkish competition law, focusing on the Turkish Competition Authority's (TCA) decisional practice against Big Tech and its comparative positioning alongside the EU’s Articles 101 and 102 TFEU. Dr. Ekingen shares detailed insights on Türkiye’s pending "gatekeeper" style amendments to Law No. 4054, the introduction of Undertakings with Significant Market Power (USMPs), and how qualitative criteria compare to the EU Digital Markets Act's quantitative thresholds. The conversation also dives into algorithmic opacity in AI-driven ad tools, self-preferencing dynamics in online advertising sector inquiries, market definition challenges on price-free platforms, and the regulatory overlap between digital platform enforcement and labour market antitrust.