Pinterest to appoint representative to Turkey

ANKARA

Pinterest agreed to a requirement to appoint a local representative in Turkey as part of a new social media law that took effect in October 2020, according to a top Turkish official.

Deputy Transport and Infrastructure Minister Ömer Fatih Sayan announced on Twitter that Pinterest has agreed to appoint a local representative in Turkey.

Sayan also said that after Pinterest's move, there is no social media network failing to appoint a representative.

With these developments, the rights of Turkish citizens will be protected more efficiently, Sayan said.

Turkey asked social media platforms that are accessed more than 1 million times daily in the country to appoint local representatives.

Last year, Turkey imposed a 40 million Turkish liras ($5.43 million) fine each on several social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube for not complying.

Facebook, VKontakte (VK), YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Dailymotion and Twitter have decided to assign local representatives.

Turkey will limit the bandwidth of platforms that flout requirements by up to 90% and ban Turkish-based firms from running advertisements on them.

Social media giants that appoint local representatives after sanctions would have 75% of the fine and bans waived and bandwidth restored.