With the advancement of technology, both the modes of creation of works and the platforms through which such works are used have undergone significant transformation; in this process, it has become apparent that certain types of works and forms of use that have emerged do not have a clear or direct counterpart under the Law No. 5846 on Intellectual and Artistic Works (“LIAW”). This situation has rendered it necessary to introduce specific and up-to-date regulations addressing such works and the related legal relationships.
Accordingly, the Digital Copyright Bill (the “Bill”), which has been prepared with the aim of ensuring the effective protection of copyright in digital environments, safeguarding the accessibility of content serving the public interest, and respecting freedom of expression, was submitted to the Presidency of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye on 11 December 2025.
The Bill envisages the establishment of the Copyright Monitoring Authority (the “Authority”) and the Copyright Monitoring Board (the “Board”), which will have administrative and financial autonomy, under the coordination of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Ministry of Interior, and the Information and Communication Technologies Authority for the purposes of protecting and supervising digital copyright and ensuring the effective resolution of disputes in this field.
The Board will be vested with the authority and responsibility to adjudicate complaints relating to digital copyright infringements within seven days; to supervise compliance by intermediary service providers with the obligations arising from the Bill and to impose the necessary administrative measures in cases of non-compliance; to propose legislative amendments and develop policies within the scope of regulatory initiatives concerning digital copyright; to establish, administer, and oversee the operation of the National Digital Works Registration System database; to provide guidance on licensing relationships between copyright holders and intermediary service providers and to carry out conciliation activities in the event of disputes; as well as to conduct public awareness and outreach activities. It is further envisaged that the decisions adopted by the Board will be publicly disclosed.
Within the structure of the Board, a five-member Copyright Dispute Arbitration Commission (the “Commission”) will be established to provide technical opinions on allegations of digital copyright infringement. The Commission will review the applications submitted to it and render a binding decision within a maximum period of fifteen days. The decisions of the Commission will be given priority consideration by the courts, without prejudice to the parties’ right to initiate legal proceedings.
Accordingly, the Bill aims to provide copyright holders with protection against infringements occurring in digital environments through swift and effective administrative mechanisms, without requiring recourse to lengthy and costly judicial proceedings.
While safeguarding the rights of copyright holders, the Bill also envisages due regard for freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and the principle of public interest, and provides detailed regulations concerning
digital content and news content produced by press publishers. Moreover, the scope of the Bill has been defined broadly so as to encompass intermediary service providers operating in Türkiye whose daily user numbers exceed 250,000 or whose annual revenue exceeds the prescribed threshold, as well as social media platforms, news publishers, copyright holders, and artificial intelligence systems that generate new content through the use of copyrighted works. In this respect, the Bill seeks to restructure copyright relations in the digital sphere, remedy potential rights losses, and establish a transparent revenue-sharing model.
In this context, intermediary service providers are envisaged to be subject to a number of obligations, including the establishment of an Automated Content Recognition System, the detection of content involving copyright infringement prior to receipt of any notice and the immediate removal of such content upon notification, the transparent sharing of revenues generated from content used on the platform with copyright holders and related right holders, and the submission of annual reports to the Board.
The Bill further provides that intermediary service providers failing to comply with the obligations set forth therein may be subject to administrative fines imposed by the Board ranging from 1% to 5% of their Türkiye-sourced annual revenues. In cases of repeated infringements or gross negligence, this rate may be increased up to 10%. Considering the prevalence of copyright infringements on large-scale digital platforms, it is anticipated that, in its current form, the Bill may give rise to highly significant and deterrent sanctions for intermediary service providers.
In addition, the Bill introduces a definition of the concept of fair use and sets out a comprehensive regulatory framework in this regard. Given that globally operating digital platforms such as TikTok and Instagram explicitly refer to the fair use doctrine in their copyright policies, the integration of this doctrine into Turkish law in line with the needs of the digital age is expected to mitigate many practical challenges that may arise in this field. Accordingly, this regulation is considered to constitute an important and positive development from a copyright law perspective.
In conclusion, the Bill aims to expand the scope of the LIAW within the rapidly digitalising media and content ecosystem and to introduce a new regulatory framework governing the relationships between internet platforms and content creators. In this respect, while systematising the protection mechanisms available to right holders against digital infringements, the Bill also seeks to establish a balanced approach between freedom of expression and the right of access to information through the fair use regulation. Although further clarification and refinement may be required in certain areas, such as administrative fines, the inclusion of this Bill on the agenda of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye stands out as a significant and noteworthy development in the field of digital copyright.