TikTok to Pay $400M to Settle US Children's Privacy Case
The US Justice Department sued TikTok in 2024 over allegations that it violated children's online privacy laws.
TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle allegations from the US Justice Department that the platform violated children's online privacy laws. The settlement includes $300 million paid to the department immediately and an additional $100 million upon the entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree related to TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly.
This settlement is one of the largest recoveries ever obtained from a case under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal law that safeguards the online privacy of minors.
The Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission filed the lawsuit against TikTok and ByteDance in 2024, alleging that the platform endangered children's privacy. They claimed that TikTok knowingly allowed children to use the platform and violated federal law by not obtaining parental consent before collecting their personal data.
Since the lawsuit was filed, TikTok has reportedly undergone significant changes in ownership, management, compliance functions, and privacy practices concerning younger users. ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, sold off a majority stake of its US entity earlier this year to avoid a potential ban by the Trump administration.
TikTok is facing growing global scrutiny regarding children's online safety. In 2024, the European Union launched a probe into TikTok under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a regulation aimed at curbing harmful practices by Big Tech. The EU accused TikTok of failing to protect children from risks such as unwanted contact, cyberbullying, and predatory behavior through inadequate account settings.
The United Kingdom also launched an investigation into TikTok in July to assess whether the app is adequately protecting children from harmful content under UK law. TikTok has not yet commented on the $400 million settlement.
Written by urgent.news from Tempo.co English's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
