Social media restrictions for lawyers Special monitoring center being established

The new regulation of the Turkish Bar Association imposes restrictions on lawyers' social media posts, while a special monitoring center will be established to oversee violations of the advertising ban, and disciplinary penalties will be applied to those who violate it.

The amendment to the Turkish Bar Association Advertising Regulation, published in the Official Gazette, introduces new restrictions on lawyers' posts on social media and digital platforms. A special monitoring mechanism will be established to identify those who violate the advertising ban.

**"ADVERTISING BAN MONITORING CENTER" IS BEING ESTABLISHED**

Under the new regulation, a "Advertising Ban Violation Monitoring Center" consisting of 5 people will be established to monitor violations of the advertising ban. This center will examine allegations of violations in written, visual, and online media, submit reports to the Turkish Bar Association, and follow up on the process with the bar associations. Center members will be appointed by the Turkish Bar Association Board of Directors for a maximum of two years, and a condition is that they must not have received any disciplinary penalties.

RESTRICTIONS ON SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS

According to the regulation, lawyers will not be able to advertise past or ongoing cases, or make statements acting as spokespersons for parties. Advertising-like posts about their lives, earnings, or activities related to their professional identity are also prohibited. Furthermore, the use of manipulative codes, keywords, and similar methods to rank higher in search engines on websites and digital platforms is also banned.

EMPHASIS ON PROFESSIONAL REPUTATION

The regulation emphasizes that lawyers must avoid behaviors that damage the reputation of the profession, even in their sharing of information about their private lives.

DISCIPLINARY PENALTIES WILL BE APPLIED

Previously, the 11th Judicial Package also included various changes to the Lawyers' Act. These regulations paved the way for warnings, reprimands, and disciplinary penalties to be applied to lawyers who act contrary to professional rules. Violations of the advertising ban, conduct contrary to professional honor, practices that increase competition among colleagues, and statements that go beyond legal boundaries have also been included within the scope of the disciplinary committee.

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