Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has prohibited advertisements from ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, across its platforms in the United States and several other countries, a company spokesperson confirmed on Thursday. The decision intensifies the longstanding rivalry between Meta and ByteDance, as TikTok continues to pose a major challenge to Meta in attracting users, engaging content creators and securing advertising revenue.
According to Meta, the ban took immediate effect in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. The restriction also covers third-party advertisers whose campaigns direct users to TikTok or other ByteDance-owned services in the affected markets.
Meta defended the decision, stating that it was under no obligation to provide advertising services to a competitor seeking to draw users away from its platforms. The company added that refusing to promote a rival’s services is a common business practice across industries, emphasising its commitment to competing through product quality and user experience.
TikTok and ByteDance had not immediately responded to requests for comment from Reuters regarding the ban. Although TikTok’s website indicates that the platform does not support links designed to open other social media applications or automatically sign users into them, users can still include profile links directing visitors to the websites of other platforms.
The development comes amid Meta’s ongoing efforts to pressure TikTok and YouTube to adopt stronger child-safety measures. In August, Meta urged both platforms to follow commitments it had made regarding teenage safety following an agreement to settle claims brought by US states over alleged harm to children caused by social media. The settlement was valued at up to $18 billion.
As part of its commitments, Meta agreed to introduce daily usage limits for children on Facebook and Instagram, restrict nighttime access and strengthen safeguards to prevent minors from accessing age-restricted material. While TikTok has not publicly responded to Meta’s campaign, it reached a settlement with Alabama in September requiring the platform to introduce additional usage restrictions and strengthen age-verification procedures for users in the state.
The agreement resolved allegations that TikTok had endangered children and misled consumers about the safety of its services. TikTok continues to operate in the United States through a majority American-owned joint venture established under an arrangement intended to protect US user data and prevent a nationwide ban. The platform has more than 200 million users in the country.
Bloomberg News first reported Meta’s ban earlier on Thursday.
