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Meta Platforms has banned ByteDance’s TikTok from running ads on its platforms, making the company, which still owns 19.9% of TikTok’s U.S. business after restructuring, the latest to be shut out of a rival’s ad platform as providers escalate blocking competitors from gaining market share.
“We don’t have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps,” Meta told Reuters. “Declining promotional services to a competitor is a normal business practice across industries. We will continue to compete on product quality and user experience.”
Meta’s ban marks a significant escalation in the rivalry between the company and TikTok. By cutting off paid advertising for its biggest competitor, Meta is leveraging its platform to limit TikTok’s ability to acquire new users in key markets.
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Meta’s ban on TikTok is the latest escalation of rivalry, but other major technology platforms have a history of blocking competitors to protect their ecosystem.
For example, Apple blocking companies after the released of its iOS 27 update in mid-September. It began to cut off companies such as the Trade Desk that track consumers around the web.
Amazon blocked Meta’s new Muse AI shopping agent from accessing and purchasing items on its retail site. Rather than a direct restriction on buying advertisements, the core conflict stems from how these automation tools bypass traditional digital advertising models and user data boundaries
Years ago, Amazon also blocked Roku from buying certain sponsored product ads on its ecommerce platform for several years. The Wall Street Journal conducted an investigation in 2020 that revealed Amazon’s internal devices team flagged products from major rivals, and intentionally blocked them from buying sponsored ads tied to keywords for Amazon’s own devices.
The report suggests Roku was banned from buying these ad placements because Roku’s streaming players competed directly with Amazon’s Fire TV. Independent third-party resellers were still allowed to purchase sponsored ads using Roku keywords, the company was restricted from doing so directly.
Facebook — which competed with Echo and Portal smart displays — and Arlo Technologies — which competed with Amazon-owned Ring — also faced similar advertising restrictions on Amazon’s site.
The Walt Disney Company in October 2019 changed its policy and banned Netflix from running advertisements across its major entertainment television networks including ABC, FX, and Freeform. At the time, the Disney company said it “reevaluated its advertising strategy to reflect the ‘comprehensive business relationships’ it shared with external companies.”
Netflix operated as an ad-free subscription model at the time, offering no reciprocal advertising space for Disney to promote Disney+ to Netflix’s audience.
Laurie Sullivan is a writer and editor for MediaPost. You can reach Laurie at lauriesullivan@gmail.com.
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