US judge signals rejection of part of TikTok privacy settlement

TikTok and ByteDance's proposed $400 million settlement with the US Justice Department faced a setback on Friday when a federal judge hinted at rejecting a portion of the agreement. The settlement, agreed upon in August, was designed to address allegations that TikTok violated US children's online privacy laws. The deal required TikTok to pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million if a court dissolved a 2019 consent decree from the Federal Trade Commission concerning TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly.

However, US District Judge George H. Wu in Los Angeles expressed reservations about the proposed decree termination, scheduling a hearing for Monday. Without further information, the court could not confirm that the proposed remedy is durable or appropriately tailored to the changes in circumstances.