Meta has banned ByteDance, the Chinese parent company of TikTok, from advertising on Facebook and Instagram in seven countries, including the US, Bloomberg News reported.

The ban took effect immediately in the US, Canada, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Vietnam. It also covers other advertisers whose ads send people to TikTok or other ByteDance apps in those markets.

A Meta spokesperson confirmed the ban to Reuters. The company said turning down ads from a rival was normal business practice, and that it would keep competing on the quality of its products.

“We don’t have to run ads from a competitor whose goal is to pull people off our apps,” Meta said in a statement to Reuters.

TikTok and ByteDance did not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment. The ban does not stop people from using TikTok. Reuters also noted that TikTok itself does not support links that log users into other social apps, although profiles can link to rival websites.

The move follows weeks of public tension between the two firms over child safety. In August, Meta agreed to a settlement worth about $18bn with US states, accepting daily time limits and night-time limits for young users. Part of the payout depends on rivals adopting similar measures.

Meta has since urged TikTok and YouTube to accept the same terms. In September, TikTok rejected Meta ads calling on it to join the deal, saying they broke its rules on political content,  reported.

Later that month, TikTok reached  settlement with Alabama, agreeing to usage limits and stronger age checks. It still faces other state cases, including a New York lawsuit over teen safety.

Meanwhile, TikTok’s US business now operates through a majority-American-owned joint venture, in which ByteDance holds 19.9%. The app has more than 200 million US users.