Meta bans TikTok advertising on Facebook and Instagram in Thailand

Meta has banned advertisements from TikTok owner ByteDance on Facebook and Instagram in Thailand, the United States and five other markets, escalating competition between the two social-media groups.

The restriction took effect immediately in Thailand, the United States, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan and Vietnam, Meta said on Thursday. It also covers advertisements placed by third parties that direct users to TikTok or other ByteDance-owned services in those countries.

Meta cites competition for users

Meta said it was under no obligation to provide advertising services to a rival seeking to draw users away from its platforms.

“We don't have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps,” the company said, adding that refusing promotional services to a competitor was normal business practice.

The move intensifies the long-running rivalry between Meta and ByteDance, whose TikTok platform competes with Facebook and Instagram for users, content creators and advertising revenue.

TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

TikTok itself does not support links that directly open or log users into competing social-media applications, according to its website, although users can place links on their profiles directing visitors to other platforms’ websites.

Competition extends to online safety

The dispute comes as Meta has also been pressing TikTok and YouTube to adopt measures similar to restrictions it agreed to introduce for younger users following a settlement with US states over alleged harms to children.

In August, Meta agreed to impose daily usage limits and restrict nighttime access for children using Facebook and Instagram, while strengthening measures intended to prevent minors from accessing age-restricted content.

TikTok has not publicly responded to Meta’s broader campaign, although it reached a separate settlement with the US state of Alabama in September requiring new usage limits and stronger age-verification measures.

TikTok continues to operate in the United States through a majority American-owned joint venture established under an agreement designed to safeguard US user data and avert a ban on the app, which has more than 200 million users in the country.

Bloomberg News first reported Meta’s advertising ban before Meta confirmed the move to Reuters.

Source: Reuters