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Türkiye’s Competition Board imposed an administrative fine on Spotify after reporting that company officials blocked an on-site inspection at its Istanbul office for about nine hours as part of an ongoing competition probe, according to the board’s decision.
The authority said its inspection team arrived at Spotify’s Istanbul office at 11:25 a.m. to conduct a review within the scope of a preliminary investigation into the company’s activities in Türkiye.
According to the rapporteurs’ assessment included in the decision, the team requested meetings with five Turkish officials working for the company and sought access to specific documents and digital data.
The requests were not met, and the inspection could not be carried out during the approximately nine-hour period, the board said, describing the situation as obstruction of an on-site inspection under Law No. 4054 on the Protection of Competition.
The Competition Board ruled unanimously to impose administrative sanctions on two separate grounds.
Under the decision, Spotify was fined an amount equal to 0.5% of its 2024 gross revenue. In addition, for each day the inspection was delayed, an extra fine equal to 0.05% of the same annual revenue was imposed.
The preliminary investigation was launched following allegations that Spotify engaged in discriminatory practices among artists and content creators, particularly regarding visibility on the platform.
The authority is also examining claims that the company adopted strategies making it difficult for rival online music streaming services to operate in the market, as well as allegations of disruptive pricing policies affecting royalty distribution and competition in the online music streaming sector.
The board decided to impose the administrative fine on the grounds that the on-site inspection process had been obstructed.
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