Meta bans TikTok ads on its platforms in US

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has prohibited advertisements from ByteDance, the Chinese corporation behind TikTok, on its platforms in the United States and several other nations. This development signals a significant escalation in the ongoing competition between Meta and ByteDance, with TikTok emerging as a major rival to Meta in terms of user engagement, creators, and advertising revenue.

Effective immediately, this ban extends to third-party advertisers directing traffic to TikTok and other ByteDance properties in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. Meta stated that they do not need to run ads from competitors whose main objective is to redirect users away from their own platforms.

The company emphasized that declining promotional services to a competitor is a standard business practice in every industry and pledged to continue competing based on product quality and user experience. As of now, TikTok and ByteDance have not commented on Meta's decision. Despite TikTok's website prohibiting links that open or log users into other social media platforms, users can still link to their profiles, directing people to those platforms' websites.