TikTok reaches $400 million settlement with U.S. Justice Department over children’s privacy

TikTok has settled a 2024 lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice over alleged violations of federal children's privacy laws, agreeing to pay $400 million. The DOJ will receive $300 million upfront and an additional $100 million once a prior consent decree against its predecessor, Musical.ly, is vacated. U.S. Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. hailed the settlement as a "major victory for American children and parents," emphasizing the government's commitment to online child protection.

The lawsuit accused TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, of failing to obtain parental consent for collecting personal information from children under 13, and not honoring requests to delete such accounts. TikTok recently restructured its U.S. operations, partnering with Oracle, Silver Lake, and the Emirati investment firm MGX in January.

The company did not respond to media inquiries. This settlement follows a wave of legal actions against social media firms regarding children's safety and privacy, with countries increasingly restricting young users from social media platforms. Meta Platforms, Instagram's parent company, is currently on trial in federal court in California for alleged COPPA and state law violations.