Meta blocks ByteDance ads across seven countries

Meta on Thursday began barring ByteDance ads and paid promotional messages on Facebook and Instagram in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, including third-party campaigns to TikTok or other ByteDance services. The ban took effect immediately. TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond. TikTok has more than 200 million US users and operates via a majority American-owned joint venture. Contested: Meta calls the restriction normal competition. Spokesperson Chris Sgro said: "We don't have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps." He said declining promotional services to a competitor is normal business practice and Meta will compete on product quality and user experience. The move follows Meta's $18 billion August settlement with US states on minor usage limits and nighttime restrictions, Meta's pressure on TikTok for similar steps, newspaper ads, and public criticism of TikTok for missing a Surgeon General event and a House Select Committee meeting. Last month TikTok removed Instagram links from profiles and rejected Meta child-safety ads; it reached a separate Alabama settlement in September. ByteDance's response and next steps on either side are unresolved.