RTÜK sanctions four streaming platforms over broadcasting violations

RTÜK's Supreme Council imposed administrative sanctions over four productions released on HBO Max, Prime Video, Netflix and Disney+. HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ were ordered to remove the productions from their catalogs, while the platforms were fined 3% and 5% of their revenues.

Scraper SystemAugust 13, 2026, 05:41 PM

RTÜK sanctions four streaming platforms over broadcasting violations

RTÜK's Supreme Council reviewed broadcasting violations in four productions released on HBO Max, Prime Video, Netflix and Disney+. Following the reviews, it decided to impose administrative fines on the platforms.

HBO Max production removed from catalog

The council reviewed the documentary Bang My Box: The Robin Byrd Story, which was released on HBO Max. RTÜK assessed that the production explicitly displayed sexuality and pornography and portrayed same-sex relationships as legitimate.

It determined that the documentary violated provisions of Law No. 6112 on the Establishment of Radio and Television Enterprises and Their Media Services concerning national and spiritual values, public morality and the principle of protecting the family, as well as provisions on obscenity. On these grounds, the council decided to remove the production from the catalog and impose a 3% administrative fine on HBO Max.

Prime Video series receives administrative fine

The series Spartacus: House of Ashur, released on Prime Video, was also reviewed by the council. Presented as historical fiction and action-adventure, the series was found to contain graphic slow-motion depictions of blood, dismemberment and violence portrayed as a source of pleasure.

The council also determined that male and female bodies were repeatedly exposed in the series, while scenes containing excessive obscenity and sexual intercourse deemed incompatible with human nature and universal moral norms were shown extensively. Prime Video was fined under the relevant provisions of the law.

Netflix and Disney+ also sanctioned

The film Heartstopper: Forever, released on Netflix, was also reviewed. The council assessed that the production was released with maturity-rating warnings and targeted young people, while scenes involving same-sex relationships were presented in an aesthetic and endearing manner through music and visual effects.

RTÜK assessed that LGBTQ+ relationships were endorsed and normalized in the film and that this was incompatible with the Turkish family structure, spiritual values and understanding of public morality. It decided to remove the film from the catalog and impose a 3% administrative fine on Netflix.

The series A Teacher, released on Disney+, was also reviewed by the council. The production focuses on a relationship between a teacher and an underage student, and it was determined that the adult teacher's abusive conduct toward the student was romanticized and eroticized in some scenes.

The council assessed that this portrayal risked obscuring and normalizing the nature of child abuse. Disney+ was ordered to remove the series from its catalog and fined 5% for violating the provision prohibiting content that promotes abuse and violence against children and vulnerable people.

RTÜK sanctions four streaming platforms over broadcasting violations