The Advertising Ban on Physicians' Social Media Posts: A 2026 Legal Guide

Which Rules Apply to Physicians' Social Media Posts in 2026?

A post is reviewed not only under health legislation but in several fields of law

When assessing the promotion of healthcare services, the starting point should be Law No. 1219, additional Article 11 of the Basic Law on Health Services No. 3359, and the Regulation on Promotion and Information Activities in Healthcare Services, published in Official Gazette No. 33075 on November 12, 2025. Article 5 of the Regulation prohibits explicit and implicit advertising, Article 7 contains special provisions on images, and Article 8 separately provides limited possibilities for international health tourism. 12

In addition, the Personal Data Protection Law (KVKK) No. 6698, the Patient Rights Regulation, the Regulation on Personal Health Data, Law No. 6502, the advertising legislation and the relevant professional rules may apply. The fact that a post is medically accurate or is published with the patient’s permission does not by itself remove violations of other legislation. For example, an image of a medical result is assessed separately under personal data law, while the language and target audience of the same post are a separate subject of review under advertising law. 145

The effect of the 2025 regulation on earlier Advertising Board decisions

The earlier promotion regulation dated July 29, 2023 was repealed by the regulation dated November 12, 2025. Social media posts made before that date, and the administrative board decisions issued on them, should not be presented as decisions made under the new Regulation. Earlier decisions are helpful as to the assessment criteria, such as commercial appearance, misleading content, excessive superiority claims and patient steering. However, whether a current post is lawful must be determined separately on the basis of the provisions and exceptions in force. 16789

What Information May Physicians Share on Social Media?

The permitted area of promotion and information

Reading Articles 4 and 5 of the Regulation together, the following information, provided it contains no advertising or steering, falls as a rule within the area of permitted information:

• The physician’s actual main-branch and sub-branch specialties under Law No. 1219 and verifiable academic title.

• The place where patients are received, address, contact details and working days and hours.

• The specialty branches in which the healthcare institution is licensed to provide services, and the actual titles of healthcare professionals.

• Scientific content that informs the public, such as early symptoms of diseases, methods of prevention, risk factors and screening principles.

• Personal professional information on training, scientific work, congresses, scientific publications and certificates registered by the Ministry, within the scope set out in the legislation.

However, the fact that an information category is permitted does not necessarily mean that the manner of presentation is also lawful. It is possible to state a field of specialty; marketing the same specialty with words such as “the only one in the city,” “the best” or “cures for certain” is a different matter. A certificate cannot be presented as if it were a statutory specialty branch. The provision of the Regulation on showing the date of the last update of information on a website and contact details for reaching the editor must also be taken into account. 1

Five decisive signs that give content the character of advertising

Creating demand for a service: Instilling in the user a wish to have a particular procedure performed without assessing their complaint or medical need.

Steering to a particular physician: Turning general medical information into a call that makes people prefer a specific physician or clinic.

Commercial language: Using limited quotas, opportunities, discounts, gifts, prize draws, price disclosure or payment facilities as marketing elements.

Claims of superiority and certainty: Using statements that cannot be verified, to the effect that one is more successful than competitors or that treatment will produce results.

Comparison to the detriment of colleagues: Putting one’s own service in the foreground by belittling other physicians, healthcare institutions or methods.

An advertising assessment is not reduced to a single word. The overall effect that the text, image, voice-over, link, target audience, sponsored status and comment section of the content produce together is decisive. 19

Statements that may lead to different legal outcomes on the same subject

These examples are not binding administrative decisions; they are comparison examples derived from the principles of the Regulation. A definitive assessment of a text requires review of the post as a whole.

Under What Conditions May Patient Photos and Before-and-After Images Be Shared?

First stage: a patient image must really be necessary and legally possible

Article 7 of the Regulation dated November 12, 2025 regulates the use of images of patients where certain conditions are met. This does not mean that all before-and-after photos have been freed. First, the content must not exceed the limits of promotion and information and must not violate patient privacy. Images of the moment of intervention, prohibited content concerning intimate areas and other special prohibitions apply separately. 1

The Annex-1 consent form, showing the image in advance and withdrawal of permission

Explicit consent, in writing or electronically, must be obtained from the patient, or, if the patient is a minor or under restriction, from the parent or guardian specified in the legislation, by means of the Visual Content Recording and Processing Consent Form in Annex-1 of the Regulation. General consent given for saving a photo to the medical archive should not be regarded as sufficient for publishing it on a social media account. 1

The patient has the right to see the final content to be published in advance. Where, for what purpose and within what scope the image will be used must be explained; the valid processing conditions of the KVKK for health data must also be assessed separately. The patient may withdraw the permission given for sharing an image at any time and without being subject to any condition. The healthcare institution or the relevant professional is obliged to process and conclude this request immediately. A previously agreed open-ended contractual clause cannot defeat the right of withdrawal. 15

A patient who does not give consent cannot be given different treatment, nor charged a different fee. Giving money, a discount or a gift in return for permission is also prohibited. For this reason, the consent process at the clinic should be run independently of the treatment decision and of commercial marketing.

How is the technical accuracy of before-and-after photos maintained?

The before and after shots must be taken in the same environment and under the same technical conditions. Varying the camera angle, shooting distance, lighting, posture, background and other comparison conditions may create a misleading impression about the result. The date of the procedure and the dates on which the images were taken must be stated. A mere statement such as “one month later” may not replace the obligation in the legislation to state dates. 1

Misleading makeup must not be used in the images; the image must not be altered afterwards with filters, retouching, anatomical changes, AI correction or similar technology. For example, removing scars, whitening teeth, slimming the face or changing the lighting in favor of the result cannot be done merely to make the image more impressive. Whether the image shows a real patient or is a quotation, and, if it is a quotation, its source, must also be stated.

Turning off interactions and the mandatory warning text

According to Article 7/1-ğ of the Regulation, in posts containing images, user interactions such as comments, likes and reshares must be turned off. Turning off only the comments, or hiding only the number of likes, does not mean that these three functions are turned off on every platform. If the platform does not technically meet the requirement, it is the safer legal choice not to publish the relevant image on that medium, or to change the sharing method. 1

Article 7/1-k of the Regulation provides for an easily readable warning for visual content used in domestic promotion and information activities:

“In every surgical or interventional procedure, results may vary from person to person. It is recommended that you obtain detailed advice from your physician before the procedure.”

Because the provision is not drafted narrowly as limited to “surgery footage,” the use and placement of the text should be checked separately before publication for visual content directed at the domestic audience. The warning must not be turned into a decoration of the image file; it must be legible, accessible and visible. The interface of the social media platform or the short duration of a video does not remove this obligation by itself. 1

Why can patient consent not override the advertising ban?

Consent does not guarantee that a marketing act complies with the legislation. In its decision dated May 11, 2023 and numbered 2023/787, the Personal Data Protection Board assessed that the use of health data, even where explicit consent had been obtained from patients, cannot be accepted as a lawful data processing activity if it is incompatible with sector-specific advertising prohibitions. The period in which the event occurred and the new Regulation of 2025 must be distinguished from one another; nevertheless, the principle that data processing conditions and the limits of healthcare advertising are separate reviews remains important in current practice. 4

Moreover, covering the patient’s face is not always anonymization. A voice, a distinctive tattoo, a date, the clinical context, the patient’s story or the combination of other data may make a person identifiable. Transfers of the image to social media service providers, as well as retention, access and deletion processes, are also part of the data protection assessment, just as much as permission to publish the image. 512

Can Videos of Surgery or Injection Be Published?

Article 7/1-h of the Regulation prohibits sharing footage of patients during a medical intervention, procedure or surgery. Showing only a few seconds of the operation, keeping the patient’s face out of the frame or having the patient’s consent does not lift this special prohibition. Videos showing moments in which a procedure is actually being performed on the patient, such as placing an implant, giving an injection, a surgical incision or suturing, should be assessed within this scope. 1

An anatomical model, a drawing, an educational animation or a general medical explanation in which no real patient appears is different. It must also not be presented as if it were a real treatment result, and it must meet the conditions of scientific validity and of not turning into advertising. Creating a representative AI image does not permit altering the image of a real patient with technology.

Google Reviews, Thank-You Messages and Success Stories

A comment written spontaneously by a patient is not advertising content of the clinic

Article 5/1-e of the Regulation prohibits sharing in the nature of advertising through expressions of satisfaction and thanks by patients or their relatives. For this reason, publishing a screenshot of a Google business review in an Instagram story, turning a patient’s WhatsApp thank-you into an advertising collage, or a patient video titled “my life changed” shared by a physician carries serious risk. Deleting the name in the review does not by itself resolve the problem of promise of success and creation of demand. 111

A patient commenting spontaneously on a publicly accessible medium is different from a healthcare institution selecting that comment and using it again for promotional purposes. When replying to reviews, the clinic must not disclose that the patient was actually treated there, nor their diagnosis or procedure. A neutral reply that merely thanks the person for the review is less risky than a detailed statement confirming treatment information about the patient.

The exception for a health tourism account is assessed separately

Article 8/1-ç of the Regulation contains a special provision on patient stories and reviews, on media dedicated to audiences abroad for authorized health tourism facilities, subject to patient privacy, documentation of explicit consent and other conditions. This provision does not give authority to turn patient thanks into advertising on a general clinic account directed at patients in Türkiye. 13

Sponsored Ads, Google Ads, Prices and Campaigns

The general ban and narrow exceptions for domestic sponsored promotion

Healthcare institutions and professionals may register with search engines and social platforms in a manner that is not paid, sponsored or aimed at prominence. However, promoting a healthcare service by paying certain advertising media is, as a rule, prohibited for promotion within the country. Instagram, Facebook, video platforms, Google Ads and paid ranking applications are assessed in the light of the same basic principle. 1

Article 5/1-j of the Regulation allows sponsored promotion and information during the first month after the opening of a healthcare facility, provided it remains in compliance with the provisions of the Regulation. Separate permission is also made possible for new technologies and methods medically accepted by the Ministry. These limited provisions do not free all price campaigns or patient-image advertisements. A clinic relying on the first-month exception must be able to document both its start-of-operations date and the scope of the announcement.

Fees, promotions, prize draws and promises of certain results

Articles 5/1-l and 5/1-m of the Regulation prohibit making encouragement of healthcare services, gifts or prize draws a subject of marketing, and using fee, discount, campaign or promotion information in promotion. Content such as “free for the first ten people,” “30 percent off this weekend,” “procedure by prize draw” and “get a price by DM” is therefore risky. Social responsibility activities that can be carried out with the Ministry’s permission must not be confused with commercial promotion. 18

In statements such as “one hundred percent success in treatment,” “painless and risk-free,” “the best doctor” and “guaranteed recovery,” the problem is not only the difficulty of proving the claim: making clinical uncertainties invisible can also mislead the patient’s evaluation and decision-making process. The person-specific conditions, indications and risks of the treatment must be explained within scientific limits.

Brand, Device, Certificate and Influencer Content

Explaining scientific methods is possible; however, a post that presents a device, brand or method as superior to others, steers people to a manufacturer or contains a sales link raises the question of advertising character. Article 5/1-h of the Regulation introduces special restrictions on implicit brand promotion and product links. The scientific name of a device and a company’s promotional slogan are not the same thing. 1

A physician presenting a short course certificate, which is not a specialty name, as if it were a professional specialty title is also objectionable. Certificates registered by the Ministry and scientific activities may be stated within the scope determined in the legislation; they cannot be substituted for a statutory specialty.

Publication of content from the account of an influencer, an agency, an employee, a patient or a third party does not in every case relieve the healthcare facility or professional of responsibility. Articles 5/2 and 7/1-i of the Regulation separately regulate the responsibility of those who make a violating post and those who share it, and the rule on by whom the image is to be published. Indemnity or recourse clauses in an agency contract do not by themselves remove the primary liability that may arise toward the administration. 1

When working with an advertising agency, the medical content check, legal approval, consent records, confirmation that the image has not been altered, supervision of sponsored targeting, violation notification and content removal procedure must be defined in writing before publication. The technical authority the agency holds over the content and its account access should be assessed together with duties and security responsibilities under the KVKK.

Which Promotions Are Possible in International Health Tourism?

An authorization certificate and a separate account for audiences abroad are basic conditions

The Regulation on International Health Tourism and the Health of Tourists dated April 26, 2025 and the promotion Regulation dated November 12, 2025 must be applied together. Article 8 of the Regulation allows certain sponsored information activities in languages other than Turkish, conducted through a separate website or social media account directed abroad, for health tourism facilities and intermediary institutions authorized by the Ministry. The medium must clearly state that health tourism services are provided, and the authorization certificate must be accessible. 13

Persons within the country cannot be selected as the target audience; automatic audience definitions must be turned off. Using an English text alone does not make an advertisement directed at people living in Türkiye lawful. The social platform’s automatic expansion and retargeting options must also be taken into account. Authorized health tourism facilities have an obligation to use the HealthTürkiye logo in the relevant promotions. 1

Health tourism exceptions are not the same for a clinic and an intermediary institution

Articles 8/1-ç and 8/1-d of the Regulation govern the sharing of patient reviews, patient stories and sponsored images on accounts abroad under certain conditions. In addition, Article 8/3 allows discounts, campaigns and competitive price announcements in promotions directed abroad by authorized health facilities and intermediary institutions within the scope of Articles 8/1-a and 8/1-g. However, an intermediary institution cannot create the impression that it provides the healthcare service itself; it must clearly separate the institution for which it acts as intermediary from its own limits of authority. 1

When relying on the health tourism exception, one should not rely only on a screenshot of the advertising panel; campaign dates, language, target countries, automatic targeting settings, the authorization certificate, consent and final image records should be kept together.

What Do Advertising Board Decisions Show in Practice?

The files below are examples of administrative decisions that appear in the Advertising Board bulletins published by the Ministry of Trade. Because the dates of the acts reviewed precede the new Regulation of 2025, it is not claimed that the decisions were made under the current Regulation. They nevertheless show how the overall effect of promotion is examined. 67891011

In particular, in file 2024/2511, an administrative fine of TRY 863,580 and the cessation of the advertisement were decided. This amount is the historical amount of the administrative file concerned; it should not be used as a general fixed penalty for 2026. The nature of these Board decisions as administrative acts and the legal weight of court case law are separate matters. 9

Consequences of a Violating Post for the Healthcare Institution and the Physician

Supervision by the Ministry of Health and provincial health directorates

Articles 10–12 of the Regulation contain the procedures on the review of promotion and information activities by the provincial-level evaluation commission and the health administration. The review file prepared by the directorate must contain the date of the post, its URL, the relevant statement/image and distinguishing information on which provision was violated by which conduct. Removal of the relevant content, official review and the administrative sanctions in the legislation may come into play. 1

Under the paragraph added in 2025 to additional Article 11 of Law No. 3359, for private healthcare institutions that exceed the advertising limit, an administrative fine is provided of up to two percent of the gross service revenue of the previous month, but not less than the monetary lower limit set by the law, which must be checked as of the year of application. In case of repetition within a year, the administrative fine may be increased, and on a third violation the activity of the department or institution may be suspended for up to ten days. The authority to impose the administrative fine lies with the governorate, and the authority to suspend activity with the Ministry, as regulated by the law. The revalued lower limit applicable on the specific date must be calculated separately. 2

Separate risks from the Advertising Board, the KVKK and professional rules

In a review under Law No. 6502, cessation of the advertisement, its correction under the relevant conditions and an administrative fine may arise. Unlawful disclosure of a patient image, treatment information or data that makes identity identifiable may also give rise to review before the KVKK Board, data deletion and security obligations, compensation, or criminal law issues depending on the nature of the act. Not every data violation automatically leads to the same administrative fine or criminal conviction; the conditions are examined separately. 4512

As to the professional organization, deontology and disciplinary rules, and for healthcare personnel who are public officials, obligations arising from their official status, may also be assessed. Even though the same social media post may be reviewed by different authorities, the act, the person, the time, the legal basis and the characteristics of the sanction must be discussed separately in each process.

If an administrative review begins, which records should be kept and what should be challenged?

The physician or healthcare institution concerned should retain examples of the date and time the content was published, current and previous versions, URL, sponsored ad settings, targeting panel, the original of the image, consent and withdrawal records, the content approval process and administrative records. In the review, matching the date of publication with the date of entry into force of the legislation to be applied is essential; a new provision should not be applied directly to an old act.

In the defense, the entirety of the post, which element turned it into advertising, the commission’s specific findings, the capacity of the addressee, whom the advertisement actually belongs to, notification, reasoning and the calculation of the sanction should be examined. The route and period of application must be determined according to the administration that made the act, the type of sanction and the special provision on which the notified decision is based; it should not be assumed that there is a single application period for all Ministry of Health or Advertising Board acts. Merely deleting the social media post does not automatically remove the past act or any legal liability that has arisen.

A 15-Item Legal Checklist Before Publishing a Post

This list has been prepared as a pre-publication control tool that a clinic manager, a physician, a social media officer and the legal department can apply together on the same post.

1. Is the purpose of giving general information on a health topic clear and verifiable?
2. Is an actual specialty/academic title used, and is no impression of unauthorized procedures created?
3. Is there no direct or indirect steering of patients to a physician or clinic?
4. Does the content contain no commitment on treatment results, ease, superiority or absence of risk?
5. Is there no price, discount, campaign, prize draw, gift or commercial promotion?
6. Is there no implicit advertising of, or link to, a product, device, brand or sponsor?
7. If there is a real patient image, is the current Annex-1 consent and the scope of sharing documented?
8. Did the patient see the final image in advance; were withdrawal-of-consent requests checked?
9. Were the before-and-after shots taken under the same technical conditions; are the procedure and shooting dates shown?
10. Is there no filter, retouching, misleading makeup or technological alteration in the image?
11. Does the content not show a patient at the moment of intervention or surgery?
12. Are interactions such as comments, likes and reshares turned off on image posts?
13. Were the legible mandatory warning under 7/1-k and the source/image ownership checked?
14. If the content is sponsored, are the legal exception, health tourism authorization, language and targeting documented?
15. Have the final text, image, target audience, URL and publication settings together passed legal approval?

Decision criterion: If any of the required conditions cannot be documented, that post should not be published until the deficiency is remedied. This check is a reasonable preventive review for legal compliance; it does not guarantee in advance the assessment of the official authorities in every case.

Conclusion

Physicians’ sharing of scientific information in the digital environment is compatible with the public-interest aspect of healthcare. The legal limit emerges at the point of information turning into service marketing, violation of patient privacy and misleading presentation of clinical results. After the 2025 Regulation, both extreme approaches, absolute freedom or absolute prohibition, are inadequate, particularly as to patient images. The purpose of the content, the method used, the patient’s valid permission, the faithfulness of the image to reality, the interaction settings and domestic/foreign targeting must be checked together.

For healthcare institutions, the safest institutional method is to run scientific review while content is being prepared, and, before it goes live, legal review, data protection control and documentation of technical platform settings as separate processes. Rather than trying to gather evidence after an administrative inspection has begun, keeping records on a post-by-post basis makes it easier to assess a dispute soundly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a physician announce their specialty and working hours on an Instagram account?

Yes. Accurate specialty and working information falls within the permitted information scope of the Regulation, as long as it is not turned into a presentation that creates demand or claims superiority. 1

Are before-and-after patient photos completely banned in 2026?

No. The explicit consent, real and equal shooting conditions, date information, non-alteration of the image, turning off of interactions and the other obligations in Regulation Article 7 must be applied together. Obtaining consent alone is not enough. 14

Can a surgery video be shared if the patient has given consent?

No. The special prohibition on images of patients during an intervention, procedure or surgery is not lifted by the patient’s consent to image use. 1

Can a clinic account republish a positive patient review from Google?

In domestic promotion, reshares that would create advertising out of patient satisfaction are prohibited. A patient’s publishing a review spontaneously does not give the clinic authority to use it as advertising content. The special exception provided for health tourism is examined separately. 1

Can a newly opened clinic run sponsored ads?

Article 5/1-j of the Regulation allows limited sponsored promotion in the first month following opening, provided the clinic remains in compliance with the Regulation’s rules. This exception is not a general permission for discounts, guaranteed results or prohibited use of images. 1

Can a clinic buy paid top ranking through Google Ads?

In promotion of healthcare services directed at the domestic audience, paid sponsored prominence is in principle prohibited. Whether an exception applies must be assessed according to the institution’s situation and the scope of the campaign. 1

Can patient reviews and price campaigns be shared on a health tourism account?

Article 8 of the legislation contains exceptions of differing scope for authorized healthcare facilities and intermediary institutions. A post cannot be made without examining together the separate account abroad, language, targeting, consent, privacy and authorization conditions. 13

When must content be removed if a patient withdraws consent?

Under the Regulation, the withdrawal request must be processed and concluded immediately. The healthcare institution must carry out the removal from the channels under its own control and, where necessary, separately assess its obligations as to other channels with which the data has been shared. 15

What should be done if an administrative sanction is imposed on a social media account following a complaint?

The decision should be reviewed as to which authority issued it and on the basis of which act and statutory provision; the dates of the act and of notification, the complete record of the post, the opportunity for defense, authority, reasoning and the calculation of the sanction should be checked. The route and period of application must be determined specifically for the type of act.

Sources and legal bases

1. Ministry of Health of the Republic of Türkiye, Regulation on Promotion and Information Activities in Healthcare Services (Sağlık Hizmetlerinde Tanıtım ve Bilgilendirme Faaliyetleri Hakkında Yönetmelik), November 12, 2025, Official Gazette No. 33075, especially Arts. 4–8, 10–13. Source link

2. Law No. 3359 on Basic Health Services (Sağlık Hizmetleri Temel Kanunu), additional Art. 11 (including the promotion provision added in 2025 by Law No. 7557). Source link

3. Official Gazette of the Republic of Türkiye, Regulation on International Health Tourism and the Health of Tourists (Uluslararası Sağlık Turizmi ve Turistin Sağlığı Hakkında Yönetmelik), April 26, 2025, Official Gazette No. 32882. Source link

4. Personal Data Protection Board, decision dated May 11, 2023 and numbered 2023/787, on the use of patients’ health data in promotion. Source link

5. Personal Data Protection Authority, Guide on the Processing of Special Categories of Personal Data (Özel Nitelikli Kişisel Verilerin İşlenmesine İlişkin Rehber), on the 2024 amendment of KVKK Art. 6. Source link

6. Ministry of Trade, Advertising Board, bulletin of meeting No. 356 dated April 17, 2025, file No. 2025/1640. Source link

7. Ministry of Trade, Advertising Board, bulletin of meeting No. 358 dated June 12, 2025, file No. 2025/869. Source link

8. Ministry of Trade, Advertising Board, bulletin of meeting No. 360 dated August 14, 2025, file No. 2025/664. Source link

9. Ministry of Trade, Advertising Board, bulletin of meeting No. 361 dated September 11, 2025, files No. 2025/1870 and 2024/2511. Source link

10. Ministry of Trade, Advertising Board, bulletin of meeting No. 340, file No. 2023/7002. Source link

11. Ministry of Trade, Advertising Board, bulletin of meeting No. 289, file No. 2019/2676. Source link

12. Personal Data Protection Authority, Unlawful Sharing of Special Categories of Personal Data on the Internet and Social Media (Özel Nitelikli Kişisel Verilerin Kanuna Aykırı Şekilde İnternet ve Sosyal Medya Mecralarında Paylaşılması), summary of Board decision. Source link