TikTok to pay $400 million in US child privacy settlement over alleged violations
TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have reached a $400 million settlement with the US Department of Justice to resolve allegations of violating federal children's privacy laws. This settlement represents one of the largest recoveries under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The agreement requires TikTok to pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million following an order vacating a prior consent decree related to the company's predecessor, Musical.ly.
The DOJ filed the lawsuit in 2024, accusing TikTok and ByteDance of unlawfully collecting children's personal information and failing to obtain parental consent for users under 13. The company was also accused of not honoring parents' requests to delete children's accounts, even when it knew the accounts belonged to users under 13.
US Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. hailed the settlement as a significant victory for American children and parents, emphasizing the importance of protecting children online and ensuring companies comply with legal obligations.
The settlement resolves litigation concerning compliance with COPPA and its implementing regulations. The DOJ stated that the agreement avoids the delay and uncertainty of prolonged litigation. This settlement also pertains to a 2019 Federal Trade Commission (FTC) consent decree involving Musical.ly, which paid a $5.7 million fine for allegedly collecting personal information from young children without parental consent.
TikTok has undergone substantial changes since the DOJ filed its complaint, including alterations to its US ownership, management, compliance functions, and privacy practices. In January, ByteDance established a majority American-owned TikTok US joint venture involving investors such as Oracle, Silver Lake, and Emirati investment firm MGX, aiming to prevent a US ban on the platform, which has over 200 million users in the US.
The TikTok US joint venture confirmed that users must enter their date of birth upon accessing the app and has implemented age-moderation systems to identify users under 13 who misrepresent their age. The company also employs hundreds of personnel trained in underage moderation and deletes thousands of accounts identified as belonging to underage users each month.
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