TikTok reaches $400M settlement over children’s privacy lawsuit
Two years after the U.S. Department of Justice alleged that TikTok violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, it has reached a $400 million settlement.
TikTok and ByteDance, its parent company, have agreed to a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to address allegations that the social media platform breached federal laws protecting children's online privacy. The lawsuit, filed in 2024 under the Biden administration, claimed that TikTok allowed millions of children under 13 to use the platform without obtaining parental consent, in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
The settlement requires the tech giant to implement measures to enhance protections for young users, such as stricter age controls, additional safeguards, and improved parental oversight over their children's activity and personal information. However, TikTok and ByteDance are not obligated to admit any wrongdoing. The 2024 case alleged that TikTok had faced federal action over children's privacy in 2019 and continued to struggle with identifying and removing underage users on the platform.
Despite employees raising concerns about young users, the company maintained and utilized their data, including information for targeted advertising. This settlement comes on the heels of TikTok facing increased scrutiny over its user safety practices, with Bloomberg reporting that the company had intentionally disabled an algorithmic safeguard for about 10% of U.S. users as part of an experiment, leading to criticism from lawmakers.
Written by urgent.news from TechCrunch's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
