Meta has banned TikTok parent ByteDance from advertising on its apps in the US and six other countries.
“We don’t have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps,” Meta said in a statement to Bloomberg.
The ban was first reported by Bloomberg on Thursday (October 8).
According to Bloomberg, Meta began blocking all ads and paid marketing messages from ByteDance across its platforms that day.
The restriction applies in seven markets, according to Meta: the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
It also covers campaigns from third-party advertisers that direct users in those markets to TikTok or to other ByteDance-owned services.
“We don’t have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps.”
META (via Bloomberg)
“Declining promotional services to a competitor is a normal business practice across industries,” Meta spokesperson Chris Sgro added in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. “We will continue to compete on product quality and user experience.”
Sgro, TikTok, and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment from MBW.
The ban follows changes made by TikTok in September that limit how users can leave its app for other social platforms, according to Bloomberg.
Those changes included removing dedicated Instagram links from TikTok user profiles, the report added.
Links that launch other social media apps, or sign users into them, are not supported on TikTok, according to the platform’s website, Reuters reported separately. Profile links that point to those platforms’ websites are still permitted.
TikTok has rejected ads from Meta that called on it to sign on to child safety commitments similar to Meta’s own, Bloomberg reported.
Bloomberg pointed to what it called “a key imbalance” in the rivalry between Meta and TikTok: TikTok operates in the US, while Meta has been unable to operate in China.
The rivalry has intensified since August, Bloomberg added.
That month, Meta agreed to pay up to USD $18 billion to settle claims brought by US states over the impact of Facebook and Instagram on young users.
Under the settlement, Meta must set a combined two-hour daily limit by default for teenage users across Facebook and Instagram, and block their use of the apps between midnight and 6 a.m., according to Reuters.
Around USD $12.7 billion of the USD $18 billion is guaranteed and will be paid over a decade, the news agency reported. Meta only has to pay the other USD $5 billion or so if its rivals, including Snap, TikTok, and YouTube, introduce comparable safeguards and agree to pay the states similar sums.
Since the settlement, Meta has called on TikTok and Google-owned YouTube to match its teen safety commitments.
Meta ran ads in major newspapers to press the point, and its executives have publicly faulted TikTok for failing to attend a recent Office of the Surgeon General event focused on excessive screen use, according to Bloomberg.
TikTok has not responded publicly to Meta’s campaign, Reuters reported. In September, however, TikTok reached a settlement with Alabama that requires it to impose new usage limits and strengthen age verification for users in that state.
In January, TikTok closed a deal to form TikTok USDS Joint Venture, a majority American-owned entity that allowed the app to keep operating in the US.
Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX each hold 15% of the joint venture, while ByteDance retains 19.9%.
Under that structure, TikTok‘s global business, through its US entities, manages “certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising, and marketing,” according to the joint venture’s announcement.
Bloomberg describes ByteDance as the company that “remains in charge of key parts of TikTok in the US.”
Days before the ban, TikTok opened its global ad network to campaigns targeting the US.
TikTok announced the move at Advertising Week New York on Monday (October 5).
It paired the announcement with Kantar data that named TikTok the No. 1 platform where marketers plan to increase ad spend in 2027, according to TikTok’s summary of the report.
In September, OpenAI stopped accepting ChatGPT ads for image- and audio-generation products that compete with its own tools, according to a report by The Information cited by Bloomberg.
Amazon, meanwhile, began blocking Meta’s personal AI agent, Muse, from its retail site on September 20, after Meta declined a request to exclude Amazon’s store from the agent, according to Bloomberg.
In April, a study commissioned by Meta from Luminate compared music audiences on Instagram and TikTok.
It found that 32% of Instagram’s daily music engagers qualified as superfans, compared with 27% of TikTok’s.
“Partnering with Luminate on this custom study helps to explain what we have long believed to be true: Instagram is the best place to build artist careers,” said Tamara Hrivnak, VP of Music & Product Partnerships at Meta, at the time. “Beyond short-lived moments, we see that Instagram can uniquely connect artists with Superfans and the high-value music audiences that drive their careers, both in terms of off-platform streaming and beyond.”
TikTok, for its part, struck a new multi-year licensing deal with Universal Music Group in May.
Under that agreement, the companies said, UMG‘s artists and songwriters would gain access to expanded marketing and advertising campaigns on TikTok.Music Business Worldwide
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has enacted a ban on advertisements from ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok, across its platforms in the United States and six other countries. This decision, first reported on October 8, 2023, comes as a strategic move to eliminate competitor ads that could redirect users away from Meta’s apps. The ban spans seven markets: the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. This restriction also includes third-party campaigns that direct users to TikTok or other ByteDance services.
Meta’s spokesperson, Chris Sgro, explained that denying promotional services to a competitor is a standard business practice across various industries. He emphasized that Meta intends to compete based on product quality and user experience. This move reflects the escalating rivalry between Meta and TikTok, especially in light of recent changes TikTok made to limit user navigation away from its platform. For instance, TikTok removed direct links to Instagram from user profiles and does not support links that launch other social media apps.
The ban on ByteDance ads follows TikTok’s rejection of Meta’s ads that urged the platform to adopt child safety commitments akin to those Meta has implemented. This ongoing competition has highlighted a notable imbalance: while TikTok operates freely in the US, Meta remains barred from the Chinese market.
In August 2023, Meta reached a significant settlement involving $18 billion to address claims from US states regarding the impact of Facebook and Instagram on young users. As part of the agreement, Meta will enforce a two-hour daily limit for teenage users on its platforms and restrict access to these apps between midnight and 6 a.m. Approximately $12.7 billion of this settlement is guaranteed, while the remaining $5 billion will depend on whether rivals like TikTok, Snap, and YouTube implement similar safeguards.
Following the settlement, Meta has called for TikTok and YouTube to match its commitments to teen safety, even running ads in major newspapers to press the issue. Meta’s executives have publicly criticized TikTok for not attending events focused on reducing excessive screen time.
Contrastingly, TikTok has made recent changes to enhance user safety and compliance. In September, the platform settled with Alabama to impose new usage limits and improve age verification for users. Earlier in the year, TikTok established a joint venture called TikTok USDS, which is majority-owned by American entities, allowing it to maintain operations in the US. This structure allows TikTok’s US entities to manage specific commercial activities, including advertising and e-commerce, while ByteDance retains some control over key operations in the US.
Compounding the competitive tension, just days before Meta’s ban, TikTok had announced the expansion of its global ad network to include campaigns targeting the US market, coinciding with a report that positioned TikTok as the top platform where marketers intend to increase ad spending by 2027.
The competitive landscape has seen other tech giants taking similar actions. For instance, OpenAI recently stopped accepting ads for products that directly compete with its own offerings, while Amazon has blocked Meta’s AI agent, Muse, from its retail site after Meta declined to exclude Amazon’s store from its agent’s functionality.
In the broader context of social media and advertising, a study commissioned by Meta indicated that Instagram outperforms TikTok in terms of music audience engagement, suggesting that Instagram is better suited for building artist careers. Meanwhile, TikTok has made strides in enhancing its platform for music marketing, including a new multi-year licensing deal with Universal Music Group that aims to expand marketing opportunities for UMG artists on TikTok.
Overall, this ban on ByteDance’s ads by Meta illustrates the fierce competition between these social media giants, reflecting broader industry trends where companies are increasingly protective of their user bases and advertising revenues. The evolving landscape continues to shape how these platforms operate and compete for user engagement and advertising dollars.
