October 9, 2026
The “Meta” company imposed a comprehensive ban on advertisements and paid marketing messages issued by the Chinese company “ByteDance”, which owns the “Tik Tok” application, in a move that reflects the escalation of the intensity of competition between the two technological giants.
According to Meta, the ban entered into force yesterday to include the United States, along with seven other countries including Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The decision is not limited to ByteDance only, but also extends to third-party advertisers who run advertising campaigns related to TikTok or other platforms affiliated with the Chinese company in those markets.
In his comment, Meta spokesman Chris Screw explained in an official statement: “We do not have to display ads from a competitor whose goal is to withdraw users from our applications… Rejecting competitors’ promotional services is a normal business practice in various sectors, and we will continue to compete on the basis of product quality and user experience.”
This escalation comes in light of the difference in the geographical presence of the two companies. The “Tik Tok” application has succeeded in operating within the most prominent “Meta” market, which is the United States, while “Meta” remains deprived of entering the Chinese market, which represents the main stronghold of the “Tik Tok” application.
The competition between the two sides took a more intense turn last August, following Meta’s approval of a historic settlement worth $18 billion with several American states, under which it committed to implementing new security features aimed at protecting minors on the Instagram and Facebook platforms.
