TikTok has agreed to a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve a 2024 lawsuit alleging the company violated federal children's privacy laws, the DOJ announced Friday.
TikTok agrees to $400 million DOJ settlement over children's privacy violations
TikTok has agreed to a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve a 2024 lawsuit alleging the company violated federal children's privacy laws, the DOJ announced Friday.
Under the settlement terms, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million after a court order vacates an earlier consent decree against its predecessor company, Musical.ly.
The 2024 lawsuit alleged that TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance violated the 1998 Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which requires child-oriented apps and websites to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13. The suit also alleged the companies failed to honor parents' requests to delete their children's accounts and did not delete accounts even when the firms knew the account holders were under 13.
Since the DOJ filed its lawsuit in 2024, TikTok's U.S. ownership structure has changed. In January, the company signed agreements with investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and the Emirati investment firm MGX to form a new TikTok U.S. joint venture.
The settlement comes as social media companies face a broad range of lawsuits over children's safety and privacy. Meta Platforms, the parent company of Instagram, is currently on trial in federal court in Oakland, California, over allegations it violated COPPA and various state statutes. A growing number of countries are also banning young children and teenagers from social media apps.
- The source does not state whether the settlement includes any admission of wrongdoing by TikTok or ByteDance.
- The source does not identify which court will issue the order vacating the earlier consent decree against Musical.ly, or when that order is expected.
- The source does not specify what changes, if any, TikTok is required to make to its data practices as a condition of the settlement.
- The source does not state the current status of the TikTok U.S. joint venture or the extent of each investor's stake.
- The source does not establish whether ByteDance is a named party to the settlement or only TikTok.
- The source text supplied appears truncated; some material may be missing.
Read the original at Associated Press