TikTok Agrees To $400m US Child Privacy Settlement
BBC Technology reported that TikTok agreed to pay $400 million to end a US children's privacy lawsuit, with $300 million due immediately and $100 million tied to a 2019 FTC consent decree.
TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to the US government to end a children's privacy lawsuit, BBC Technology reported, putting the case among the largest public settlements tied to children's data protection.
The deal resolves a 2024 Department of Justice lawsuit filed under former President Joe Biden.
The department alleged that the short-video platform and ByteDance gathered extensive information from millions of children under 13 without reliable age checks or parental permission.
The lawsuit centered on the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the federal law enacted in 2000.
The same statute has become a wider enforcement tool against large social platforms, including a separate case brought by attorneys general from 29 US states against Meta over Instagram and Facebook.
Under the TikTok agreement, TikTok and ByteDance will pay the Justice Department $300 million immediately.
A further $100 million is due when the government vacates a 2019 consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission.
That earlier decree involved Musical.ly, ByteDance's predecessor in the short-video app market.
Musical.ly had been required to pay a $5.7 million fine for COPPA violations and to seek parental consent for users under 13.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said children and parents are better protected than when the case began.
Other COPPA penalties have included Google's YouTube paying $170 million in 2019 and Epic Games paying $275 million in 2022.
The Justice Department did not detail any action against TikTok beyond the fine.
It noted that the platform had undergone significant changes since the lawsuit was filed, including changes to ownership, privacy practices and controls for young users.
TikTok's US business has also shifted under political pressure.
Former President Biden pushed in 2024 for a ban or divestment of the app's US operations, and President Donald Trump later supported a divestment.
A consortium of investors now holds 81% of the US operations, with ByteDance retaining the remaining 19%.
The settlement closes one federal privacy case, but the broader fight over children's data on social platforms remains unresolved.
A TikTok representative did not respond to the BBC for comment.
