𝑴𝒆𝒕𝒂 𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒔 𝑻𝒊𝒌𝑻𝒐𝒌 𝑶𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒚𝒕𝒆𝑫𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒐𝒏 𝑭𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝑰𝒏𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒎

Meta has blocked TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, from advertising on Facebook and Instagram in the United States and six other countries.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed the move on Thursday. Bloomberg News first reported it, according to the New York Post. The ban takes effect immediately in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, and also applies to outside advertisers whose campaigns direct users to TikTok or other ByteDance products in those countries.

The decision deepens a rivalry that has been building for years. TikTok has grown into one of Meta's strongest competitors, battling for users, top creators and advertising revenue.

Defending the move, Meta said it has no obligation to promote a direct rival.

"We don't have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps," the company said, adding that refusing to sell promotion services to a competitor is common business practice and that it will continue to compete on product quality and user experience.

TikTok and ByteDance did not immediately respond to requests for comment, Reuters and the New York Post reported.

On its own website, TikTok notes that it does not support links that open or log users into other social media apps, although users can still add links to their profiles that lead to those platforms' websites.

The development also comes as Meta presses rivals to take stronger steps on child safety. In August, Meta agreed to a settlement of up to $18 billion with US states over claims that social media harmed children. Under that agreement, it promised to introduce daily usage limits for children on Facebook and Instagram, restrict night-time use, and strengthen protections to keep children away from age-restricted content. The company has since urged TikTok and YouTube to adopt similar measures.

TikTok has not publicly addressed Meta's campaign, but it reached its own settlement with Alabama in September, agreeing to set new usage limits and improve age verification for users in the state to resolve claims that it put children at risk and misled consumers about safety.

The ban comes at a sensitive time for TikTok in the US, where the app now operates as a joint venture with majority American ownership following a deal designed to protect US user data and avoid a nationwide ban. The platform has more than 200 million users in the country.

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