TikTok to pay $400m settlement in children's privacy case
TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit with the US Department of Justice over claims that the video-sharing platform violated federal children's privacy laws, the department has announced.
The US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission have reached a $400 million settlement with TikTok over allegations of violating federal children's privacy laws. The agreement is one of the largest recoveries under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires websites to obtain parental permission before collecting personal information from children under 13.
In the settlement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million upon the entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree related to its predecessor, Musical.ly. ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns TikTok, is also named in the settlement, having a 19.9% ownership stake in TikTok US. The lawsuit alleges that TikTok collected personal data from children below 13 without parental consent, including email addresses from accounts in TikTok's "Kids Mode" intended for users under 13.
The US and EU are among several global regulators ramping up enforcement against social media companies for violating children's data, privacy, and safety laws.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
This story
This is one outlet's version. Read the fullest account.
