Turkey is planning new rules to rein in the dominance of major tech firms, imitating the European Union’s regulatory approach at the risk of provoking U.S. retaliation.
The bill, set to be submitted to parliament soon, would prevent technology companies such as Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, Meta Platforms Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. from favoring their own services in search engines, app stores, or marketplaces, senior Turkish officials told Bloomberg. The bill is backed by the ruling party and was prepared in collaboration with Turkey’s antitrust authority.
Failure to comply could result in fines of up to 10% of a company’s annual revenue, added the officials, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
The move comes amid heightened tensions between the U.S. and the European Union over digital regulations. The EU’s Digital Markets Act or DMA, enacted in May 2023, aims to curb anti-competitive practices by imposing obligations on “gatekeeper” platforms. Turkey’s proposal aligns with the EU’s approach and could risk straining the nation’s trade ties with Washington.
US President Donald Trump has strongly criticized the EU’s DMA, calling it “overseas extortion” targeting American tech firms. In response, he has threatened to impose tariffs.
Under the proposal, closed ecosystems like Apple’s would be required to let users install third-party apps from outside of their platforms, the officials said. In Apple’s case, this means allowing downloads to iPhones and iPads from outside of the App Store, similar to how Google allows sideloading on Android devices.
It would also restrict platforms from processing user data without explicit consent and limit how they use that data for commercial purposes.
Additionally, tech firms would be required to provide commercial users — such as app developers, advertisers and marketplace sellers — with clear information on service scope, performance, and pricing.
The proposal is still subject to revisions before being enacted, and its final provisions could change during the legislative process.
