Meta bans TikTok ads on its platforms in US

Facebook and Instagram owner Meta has prohibited advertisements from ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, across its US platforms and in select other countries, a company representative announced on Thursday. This development escalates the ongoing competition between Meta and ByteDance, as TikTok has become a significant rival to Meta in terms of user engagement, content creators, and advertising revenue.

Meta's ban began immediately in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam, and extends to third-party advertisers promoting campaigns that link to TikTok and other ByteDance properties within these nations. According to Meta, "We don't have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps" and that declining promotional services to a rival is a common practice in the industry.

Meta reaffirmed its commitment to competing on product quality and user experience. Neither TikTok nor ByteDance provided immediate comment on Meta's decision. While TikTok's website prohibits links leading to or login credentials for other social media platforms, users can still include links to their profiles directing individuals to those websites.

Meta has encouraged TikTok and YouTube to implement safety measures, following a recent settlement over social media impacts on children. In August, Meta agreed to set daily usage limits and limit nighttime usage for children on Facebook and Instagram, as well as strengthen safeguards against children accessing age-restricted content.

TikTok reached a similar settlement with Alabama in September, requiring the platform to implement new usage restrictions and improve age verification for users in the state. TikTok operates in the US as a majority American-owned joint venture, following a deal aimed at protecting US user data and avoiding a ban on the app, which is utilized by over 200 million users in the country.