TikTok Agrees to $400m US Settlement Over Child Privacy

TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have agreed to pay $400m to the United States Department of Justice to settle allegations that the short-video platform violated federal laws protecting children's online privacy.

The Justice Department announced the settlement on Friday, resolving concerns that TikTok failed to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA. The law requires online services directed at children to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from users under 13.

The DOJ filed a lawsuit against TikTok and ByteDance in 2024, alleging that the companies knowingly allowed children to create standard TikTok accounts rather than restricting them to accounts designed for younger users.

According to the department, children were then able to create and share videos, exchange messages and interact with adults and other users on TikTok's main platform. The government alleged that TikTok collected personal information from those children without first obtaining consent from their parents.

Under the settlement, TikTok will pay $300m to the Justice Department immediately. A further $100m payment will be made if a court cancels an earlier settlement involving Musical.ly, the predecessor to TikTok.

Associate Attorney General Stanley E Woodward Jr described the agreement as a significant victory for children and parents in the United States.

He said the Justice Department's priority was to ensure children were protected online and that companies handling their personal information complied with their legal responsibilities.

The settlement also comes as TikTok continues to face intense scrutiny in the United States over data security and ownership of its American operations.

In January, ByteDance agreed to establish a majority US-owned joint venture intended to safeguard American user data and prevent the platform from being banned in the country. TikTok is used by more than 200 million people in the United States.

The Justice Department said TikTok had made substantial changes since the government launched its legal action, including strengthening measures designed to protect children's privacy.

Brett Shumate, Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Civil Division, said the settlement reflected significant progress by the company, while securing a substantial financial recovery for the government.

The agreement brings the federal government's case against TikTok and ByteDance over the alleged children's privacy violations to a conclusion.