Washington – Europe and the Arabs

Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced that it will no longer allow advertisements from ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok. A company spokesperson stated on Thursday that the ban takes effect immediately in the United States and several other countries. According to European media outlets in Brussels—including the Belgian newspaper *Het Nieuwsblad*—this measure also extends to Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. It also affects third-party advertisers running campaigns that include links to TikTok and other ByteDance companies.
"We are under no obligation to display ads from a competitor seeking to lure users away from our apps." This move escalates the long-standing rivalry between the two companies, as TikTok has emerged as one of Meta's most formidable competitors in the battle for user attention, content creators, and advertising revenue.
Meta emphasized: "We are not obligated to show ads from a competitor trying to draw users away from our apps. Refusing to provide promotional services to competitors is common practice across all sectors. We will continue to compete based on product quality and user experience." TikTok’s website notes that it does not support links that direct users to—or allow them to log into—other social networks, although users may list the URLs of those platforms in their profiles. $18 Billion Settlement
Meta is also urging TikTok and YouTube to adopt the same teen safety measures it agreed to in August, following an $18 billion settlement with U.S. states regarding the harm social media causes to children. At that time, Meta pledged to implement daily usage limits and nighttime restrictions on children's use of Facebook and Instagram, alongside improved measures to prevent them from accessing content intended for children.
In September, TikTok reached a settlement with the state of Alabama that included new usage limits and stricter age verification, resolving complaints that accused the platform of endangering children and misleading consumers about its safety. In the United States, TikTok operates as a U.S.-majority-owned joint venture, following an agreement designed to protect American user data and avert a ban on the app, which has over 200 million users in the country.