“The Symposium on Current Developments in Competition Law and Policies” organized with the cooperation of the Turkish Competition Authority and Boğaziçi University

"The Symposium on Current Developments in Competition Law and Policies" was hosted by Boğaziçi University on May 7, 2026 with the cooperation of the Turkish Competition Authority and Boğaziçi University Application and Research Center for Innovation and Competition Oriented Development Studies.

While the Vice President of the Turkish Competition Authority Assoc. Prof. Hakan BİLİR and the Director of Boğaziçi University Application and Research Center for Innovation and Competition Oriented Development Studies Assoc. Prof. Aslı Deniz HELVACIOĞLU delivered the opening remarks, the current developments in competition law were addressed in four different sessions in terms of different sectors and enforcement areas.

In this context, merger and acquisition as well as investment tendencies in the automotive sector were discussed in the first session. The Head of Supervision and Enforcement Department VI Dr. M. Ömür PAŞAOĞLU contributed to the session with his presentation on "Investment and Merger Trends in the Automotive Sector in Light of Tofaş/Stellantis Decision". In addition, the Chairman of the Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD) Cengiz EROLDU and CEO of DenizPay Yalın ÖZCAN participated in the session as speakers.

In the second session, recent competition law discussions, including, in particular, distribution of TV series abroad, content management services in digital platforms and exclusivity practices in the media sector were addressed. The Head of Supervision and Enforcement Department V Buket ARI AYDIN moderated the session whereas the Deputy Head of Supervision and Enforcement Department V Ezgi EREN BİRDANE contributed to the session with her presentation on "Investigations of the Competition Board related to the Visual Media Sector." Besides, COO of Inter Medya Ahmet ZİYALAR, Producer Semih SAÇAKLI and CEO of Videomite Dilek TELKES attended the session as speakers.

In the third session, moderated by the Head of Supervision and Enforcement Department VI Dr. M. Ömür PAŞAOĞLU, the relationship between industrial property law and competition law was handled in light of the Board's current approach and Assistant Competition Expert Sıla YALÇIN MELETLİ made a contribution with her presentation on TETRA PAK decision of the Competition Board. Prof. Ali PASLI, Prof. Mesut Serdar ÇEKİN and Trendyol Head of Marketplace and Policy Compliance Atty. Biricik Bengisu DİNÇER participated in the session as speakers.

The last session was devoted to the assessment of music industry within the context of the relationship between copyrights, collective rights management and competition law. The Deputy Head of Supervision and Enforcement Department V Derya ERMİŞ contributed to the session with her presentation on "The Assessment of Online Music Streaming Services in terms of the Act on the Protection of Competition". Moreover, the President of Musical Works Owners Group (MSG) Ferhat GÖÇER, the President of Music Performers' Professional Association (MÜYORBİR) Burhan ŞEŞEN and Dr. Mehmet Hamza ARSLAN attended the session as speakers.

At the symposium, which brought together representatives from academia, the public sector and the private sector, current developments in competition law and policies were assessed and opinions were exchanged.