In a letter sent by the General Directorate of Personnel and Principles of the Presidential General Secretariat to YÖK (Turkey’s higher education regulatory council), it was stated that civil servants’ earning income through digital platforms could be considered within the scope of the prohibition on commercial activity under Article 28 of the Civil Servants Law No. 657.
According to the opinion based on reviews conducted by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance dated August 20, 2026, the existence of a tax exemption does not change the nature of the income earned as commercial income. In addition, since actual earnings are not required, content, website or application activities with income-generating potential could also be subject to a disciplinary investigation. The letter sent to YÖK was signed by Ali Yavuz Birincioğlu on behalf of the Secretary-General of the Presidency.
Why it matters
This opinion shows that producing content in the digital environment for civil servants cannot be assessed solely from a tax perspective and that there is a separate legal framework governing public officials. Since a tax exemption may not, by itself, eliminate the classification of an activity as commercial under Law No. 657, it directly concerns civil servants who earn additional income or engage in digital activities with income-generating potential. However, it cannot be concluded that every activity from which no earnings have yet been generated automatically leads to a disciplinary sanction; the scope of the official opinion should be interpreted more narrowly in this respect. The main issue that remains unresolved is which content, website or application activities will specifically be considered within the scope of the prohibition on commercial activity and which criteria will be applied in disciplinary reviews.