Meta bans TikTok ads in seven markets – Campaign Indonesia

“We have no obligation to run ads from competitors whose goal is to get people to leave our app,” the company said.
by Tim Redaksi October 12 2026
Meta will ban ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company, from placing ads and paid marketing messages across its platforms in seven countries, intensifying Meta’s competition with the short-form video platform.
The ban applies in the United States, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. In addition to ByteDance and its subsidiaries, the rule also targets third-party advertisers running campaigns on Meta that include links to TikTok or other ByteDance services in those markets.
Meta stated that this policy takes effect immediately.
“We are under no obligation to run ads from competitors whose goal is to drive people away from our app. Refusing to provide promotional services to competitors is a common business practice across various industries. We will continue to compete based on product quality and user experience,” a Meta spokesperson told Campaign.
According to Meta, one of the factors behind that decision was ByteDance’s move to use Meta’s advertising services to attract users to TikTok.
“There are several factors behind this business decision. One of them is that ByteDance has been running ads on our service aimed at luring users away from our app. It makes no sense for us to help a direct competitor erode our business. In addition, ByteDance has long restricted links to Meta apps,” the spokesperson said in a written statement via email.
This decision could affect brands and agencies that use Meta to support their activities on TikTok, including campaigns that promote TikTok accounts, partnerships with creators, or app downloads. These advertisers now need to review campaigns that direct users from Meta platforms to TikTok or other ByteDance services.
This move also closes off one avenue for TikTok to purchase ad space on one of the world’s largest digital ad networks. In the affected markets, TikTok must now rely on its own advertising tools and other channels to promote its app and attract users.
Meta and TikTok have been competing for years for users, creators, and advertising budgets, particularly in the short-form video segment. To win over TikTok users, Meta continues to develop Instagram Reels and Facebook’s video services.
Tensions between the two have escalated in recent months. After reaching an $18 billion settlement with several U.S. states that requires new safety measures across its apps, Meta is urging TikTok and YouTube to implement stricter protections for young users.
Last month, TikTok introduced changes that make it harder for users to connect to competing social media platforms, including removing dedicated Instagram links from some profiles. TikTok also refused to run a Meta ad campaign urging TikTok to implement similar child protection measures. TikTok has not yet publicly responded to Meta’s decision.
Meta isn’t the first tech company to block its competitors’ ads. Last September, OpenAI reportedly informed its advertising partners that ChatGPT would not accept campaigns for competitors’ image- and audio-generation tools. According to a report by The Information, the policy affected a number of products, including those from Adobe.
Source: Campaign Asia-Pacific
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