Meta started blocking all ads and paid messages from ByteDance on Facebook, Instagram and its other apps in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam, and the ban also covers outside advertisers whose campaigns link to TikTok or other ByteDance apps, according to Bloomberg. A Meta spokesperson said the company doesn’t have to promote a competitor trying to pull users away from it. Meta’s own ad network helped TikTok build its US audience in 2018, when ByteDance ads made up nearly a fifth of the app-install ads Facebook served on iPhones. The feud has escalated since Meta’s $18 billion child safety settlement with US states in August, after which Meta pushed TikTok and YouTube to adopt the same teen protections. TikTok hasn’t responded publicly, but last month it removed the dedicated Instagram link from user profiles and rejected Meta’s ads calling on it to make similar child safety commitments.
