Meta has banned advertisements from TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, across Facebook and Instagram in the United States and six other countries, escalating competition between the social media giants.
The restriction, which took effect immediately on October 8, 2026, applies to the United States, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. It also covers third-party advertising campaigns that direct users to TikTok and other ByteDance-owned platforms in the affected markets, according to Meta.
Meta defended the decision as a standard business practice, arguing that it does not have to provide advertising services to a direct competitor seeking to attract users away from its platforms. The company said it would continue competing through product quality and user experience. TikTok and ByteDance had not immediately responded to requests for comment.
The move intensifies a long-running rivalry between Meta and ByteDance, as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok compete for users, content creators and advertising revenue. The dispute also comes amid growing scrutiny of online safety for teenagers. Meta has been urging TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar protections to those it agreed to introduce on its own platforms following a settlement with US states over alleged harm to children.
TikTok, which has more than 200 million users in the United States, continues to operate in the country through a majority American-owned joint venture established under an arrangement intended to protect US user data and avert a nationwide ban. Meta’s latest decision adds another dimension to the competition, restricting ByteDance’s ability to use Meta’s advertising network to promote its services in the seven affected markets.
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