Meta has banned advertising from TikTok and its parent company ByteDance across seven markets, according to B&T and MMM, in a new escalation of a rivalry over audience, advertising and child safety.
What is banned
The restriction covers ads and paid marketing from ByteDance and its subsidiaries, and third-party advertisers running campaigns on Meta that send people to TikTok or other ByteDance properties, according to MMM. The affected markets are the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Vietnam. B&T notes Australia is not on the list.
For advertisers in Egypt, that means any campaign on Facebook or Instagram promoting a TikTok account, creator partnership or app download needs a rethink, according to MMM.
Meta's reasoning
"We don't have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps," Meta spokesperson Chris Sgro told Bloomberg, according to B&T. A Meta spokesperson also told MMM that ByteDance "has long placed restrictions on linking to Meta apps" and that the decision had multiple factors.
MMM and B&T both note that TikTok recently made it harder for users to connect with rival platforms, including removing Instagram links from some profiles. TikTok had not publicly commented on Meta's decision when MMM reported it.
What it means in Africa
Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana and South Africa are not on the list, so most African advertisers are unaffected for now. Egypt's inclusion matters because it shows Meta is willing to treat markets differently, and the duration and any exemptions have not been disclosed.
- Egypt-based advertisers: audit active campaigns that link to TikTok.
- Everyone else: do not build a plan that depends on Meta ads driving traffic to TikTok.
- Keep your own site, email or WhatsApp list as the place people land.
