Ministry of Trade: Identity and Authorization Verification Obligations Introduced for Real Estate and Vehicle Advertisement Platforms
The Ministry of Trade has announced that identity and authority verification obligations have been introduced for real estate and vehicle advertisements on platforms where these announcements are published, in accordance with the electronic announcement verification system (EIDS).
In a statement regarding the issue, the Ministry of Trade said: "With the regulation changes made on August 31, 2023, our aim is to prevent fake advertisements, advertisement pollution, speculative price increases, and consumer grievances by imposing identity and authority verification obligations on platforms publishing real estate and vehicle advertisements.
In this context, the Electronic Announcement Verification System (EIDS) has been established by our Ministry, and from the initial phase of this system, identity verifications of individuals wishing to place advertisements will begin on November 1, 2023. Individuals who do not verify their identity will not be able to submit announcements on the platforms. The second phase of EIDS, which is the authority verification application, will be mandatory for rental real estate advertisements starting January 1, 2025. In the future, authority verification will also become mandatory for sale real estate advertisements and vehicle advertisements.
With the implementation of authority verification through EIDS, announcements can only be made by the owner of the real estate/vehicle, first and second-degree relatives, or the spouse of the owner, or by real estate/dealership businesses authorized through the EIDS authorization screen available on the E-Government portal.
This regulation covers all announcements made electronically, including on social media, and all real estate and vehicle advertisements in electronic environments are diligently monitored by our Ministry.
As a result of the inspections conducted within this framework, it has been determined that advertising activities that violate the regulation have taken place on Facebook and Instagram applications operating under Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META), and administrative fines have been imposed on these platforms.
Additionally, access to social media accounts sharing real estate and vehicle advertisements is being blocked, and to date, access has been restricted for 1,426 social media accounts.
In the upcoming period, necessary sanctions will continue to be imposed on advertisements published in violation of the regulations introduced by EIDS. Furthermore, authority documents will be revoked.
We have initiated legal proceedings regarding this matter. Businesses engaged in real estate and vehicle trade should refrain from sharing real estate and vehicle advertisements through their social media accounts. It is crucial to act in accordance with this matter to avoid any blocking of social media accounts and other administrative penalties. Our citizens should also refrain from trusting real estate and vehicle advertisements on social media to avoid any grievances."
Respectfully announced to the public.