TikTok Pays DOJ $400 Million Over Kids' Privacy
TikTok Pays DOJ $400 Million Over Kids' Privacy
The News
TikTok and Chinese parent ByteDance have agreed to pay the U.S. government $400 million to settle a federal lawsuit accusing the app of collecting personal data from children without parental consent.
The Justice Department announced the settlement Friday, resolving a case filed in August 2024 under the Biden administration.
Under the deal, TikTok pays $300 million immediately and another $100 million "upon entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree entered against TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly," the DOJ said.
The department called it one of the largest recoveries ever obtained in a case brought under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA.
Timeline
The Justice Department, together with the Federal Trade Commission, sues TikTok and ByteDance in California federal court. The complaint alleges TikTok "knowingly permitted children to create regular TikTok accounts and to create, view and share short-form videos and messages with adults and others on the regular TikTok platform," and collected and kept a "wide variety of personal information from these children" without notifying or getting consent from parents.
The U.S. divest-or-ban law covering TikTok takes effect.
Under a deal brokered by the Trump administration, ByteDance sells a majority stake in TikTok's U.S. business to non-Chinese investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi state investment firm MGX. ByteDance keeps 19.9% of the joint venture, bringing the company into compliance with the divest-or-ban law.
The DOJ announces the $400 million settlement. Axios first reported the deal.
Reactions
"This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents," Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said in a statement. "The Department's priority is ensuring that children are protected online and that companies entrusted with their personal information meet their legal obligations. This resolution secures a substantial recovery while reinforcing the protections that families expect and deserve."
The DOJ also credited the company with cleaning up its act since the complaint was filed. TikTok "has undergone significant changes to its ownership, management, compliance functions and privacy practices," the agency said, adding that the company "has implemented extensive measures designed to strengthen safeguards for younger users, improve age-related controls, and enhance parental oversight."
Variety reported it had reached out to TikTok and ByteDance for comment.
What's Next
A court still has to vacate the earlier Musical.ly consent decree before the final $100 million comes due.
Left open: what compliance steps, if any, the settlement legally obligates TikTok to keep in place, and whether the new U.S. ownership structure satisfies regulators over the long run.
More
COPPA requires websites and online services aimed at children to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from users under 13. That is the law the government says TikTok's predecessor app broke, and the reason a $400 million check is now headed to the U.S. Treasury.
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