WASHINGTON: TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a U.S. Justice Department case accusing the social media platform of violating federal privacy protections for children under 13.
Under the agreement announced Friday, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and another $100 million after a court enters an order vacating a 2019 consent decree involving Musical.ly, the predecessor to TikTok.
The Justice Department sued TikTok and ByteDance in 2024 under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA. The law requires online services aimed at children to notify parents and obtain verifiable consent before collecting personal information from users under 13.
Federal prosecutors alleged that TikTok knowingly allowed children under 13 to create accounts and use the platform without adequate parental consent. The government also accused the company of collecting and retaining children’s personal information and, in some cases, failing to honor parents’ requests to delete accounts and data.
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said the Justice Department’s priority is to protect children online and ensure companies properly handle the personal information entrusted to them.
The settlement resolves the allegations without a trial or a judicial finding of liability.
Earlier Musical.ly case
The agreement also addresses a 2019 federal case involving Musical.ly, which was later incorporated into TikTok.
At the time, the Federal Trade Commission said Musical.ly was aware that young children were using the service and had collected personal information, including names and email addresses, without obtaining the required parental consent.
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The company agreed to pay $5.7 million under a consent decree that required it to strengthen its compliance with federal children’s privacy rules.
The Justice Department said the 2019 decree will be vacated once the required court order is entered.
The government also noted that TikTok has made significant changes since the 2024 complaint, including changes to its ownership, management, compliance operations and privacy practices.
TikTok cites age safeguards
In a court filing, TikTok’s U.S. joint venture said users are required to provide their birth dates when creating accounts. The company said it also uses age-moderation systems to identify children under 13 who provide false information about their age.
TikTok said hundreds of employees are trained to detect underage users and that the company removes tens of thousands of accounts belonging to children under 13.
The Justice Department said the settlement will provide stronger protections for American families while avoiding the delays and uncertainty of prolonged litigation.
TikTok did not immediately comment on the agreement.
The settlement comes as TikTok continues to restructure its U.S. operations. In January, ByteDance agreed to establish a majority American-owned joint venture focused on protecting U.S. user data and addressing national security concerns surrounding the app.
With more than 200 million users in the United States, TikTok remains under close scrutiny from regulators over its handling of personal information and safeguards for younger users. The latest settlement adds to the company’s ongoing efforts to address those concerns.
