Meta bans TikTok-related ads in US and six other countries

Meta’s TikTok ad ban reaches outside advertisers

Meta has banned TikTok-related ads and paid marketing from ByteDance in the United States and several other countries, according to Engadget and The Verge. Both reports say the restrictions took effect Thursday. The reported change concerns paid promotion on Meta’s platforms.

The ban applies in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, according to Meta as reported by Engadget.

Engadget reports that the ban also covers third-party advertisers—outside businesses placing TikTok-linked campaigns—in those countries. For advertisers, that means having another business buy the promotion does not put a TikTok-linked campaign outside the restrictions.

Earlier TikTok restrictions provide context

Meta describes the decision as a business choice to decline promotional services to a competitor, according to Engadget’s account of its statements to Bloomberg. Engadget reports that the move follows TikTok’s own ban on Meta ads and on Instagram and Facebook profile links.

The supplied reporting does not establish when TikTok’s earlier restrictions began or which countries they cover. That limits any direct comparison between the two platforms’ policies.