TikTok to pay $400M to settle U.S. children’s privacy suit

TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve a 2024 lawsuit alleging violations of federal children’s privacy law. The company will pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million if a court vacates a prior consent decree involving Musical.ly, the app that later became part of TikTok.

The Justice Department brought the case under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA. The complaint said TikTok and parent ByteDance collected personal information from users under 13 without obtaining parental consent and failed to delete accounts when parents requested it or when the companies knew an account belonged to a child.

U.S. Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. wrote that the agreement secures a financial recovery and reinforces protections for children and families, calling it “a substantial recovery while reinforcing the protections that families expect and deserve.”

TikTok representatives did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the settlement.

Since the DOJ filed its lawsuit, TikTok restructured its U.S. business. In January the company reached agreements with investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and Emirati firm MGX to create a U.S. joint venture intended to alter ownership and oversight of its American operations.

The settlement comes as legal and regulatory pressure on social platforms over children’s safety and data is increasing. Other technology companies face similar claims under COPPA and related state laws; one large social platform is currently on trial in federal court on comparable allegations.