Meta bans TikTok ads across its platforms
Social media company Meta has banned advertising from TikTok's parent company ByteDance in the US and six other countries. Meta says it does not have to promote a competitor aiming to draw users away from its apps.
Meta, the US technology company that operates social networks, on Thursday introduced a ban on ads placed by ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of the video platform TikTok. The restriction covers the United States and several other countries, and it shows that rivalry between the major social media operators is intensifying. Bloomberg was first to report the decision.
The ban applies to ByteDance advertising and paid marketing messages, as well as third-party ads that link to TikTok. Besides the US, the restrictions take effect in Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam.
Meta's explanation
Meta spokesperson Christopher Sgro told The Verge that the company is not obliged to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off Meta's apps. He said declining promotional services to a competitor is normal business practice across industries, and added that Meta will keep competing on product quality and user experience.
Earlier developments
The decision comes a few months after Meta agreed to a major child safety settlement, which requires it to pay $17 billion and add new restrictions for teenagers. Since then, Meta has urged TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar safeguards, including through an ad campaign that TikTok reportedly declined to carry on its platform. TikTok, for its part, has stopped letting users add links that open or log them into other social media apps, according to its support page.
TikTok in the US is now controlled by a joint venture majority-owned by US-based companies, but ByteDance remains a major shareholder.
