Meta bans TikTok ads on Facebook and Instagram in seven countries

Meta has banned advertising by ByteDance, the company behind TikTok, across its platforms in seven countries, including the United States.

The restrictions took effect immediately on October 8 in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, Meta confirmed to Reuters. They also cover third-party advertisers whose campaigns link to TikTok or other ByteDance services, extending the ban beyond advertising purchased by ByteDance itself.

“We don't have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps,” a Meta spokesperson said. The company described refusing promotional services to a rival as normal business practice.

The decision follows moves by TikTok to limit connections to competing platforms. Bloomberg reported that TikTok removed dedicated Instagram links from user profiles last month and rejected Meta ads calling on it to adopt additional child-safety measures.

Meta has been pressing TikTok and YouTube to introduce protections similar to those it agreed to implement in August under a settlement with US states worth up to $18 billion. Those measures include daily usage limits, restrictions on nighttime use by children and stronger controls on access to age-restricted content.