The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) announced on Friday that ByteDance-owned TikTok will pay $400 million to settle a 2024 lawsuit accusing the company of violating child privacy laws in the country.
As part of the settlement, the social media platform will pay $300 million immediately, and an additional $100 million "upon entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree entered against TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly," the DoJ said in a press release.
A complaint filed back in August 2024 alongside the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accused the company of "massive-scale invasions of children's privacy" by knowingly allowing children under 13 to create TikTok accounts and unlawfully collecting data from those who used it in "Kids Mode."
It further alleged TikTok and its parent company ByteDance failed to "comply with parents' requests to delete their children's accounts and information."
At the time, the company disputed the arguments, stating many of them related to "past events and practices" that were either "factually inaccurate or have been addressed."
The DoJ characterized the settlement as "one of the largest recoveries ever" obtained in connection with U.S. federal child privacy law, also referred to as the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
It also noted that the tech company has since implemented extensive measures to improve safeguards for younger users, strengthen age-related controls, and improve parental oversight.
"This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents," said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr.
"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."
This is not the first time TikTok has landed in regulatory crosshairs over child data privacy. In September 2023, TikTok was levied a €345 million fine for violating the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in relation to its processing of children’s personal data.
Earlier this year, a U.S. joint venture allowed the app to continue operating in the country without a ban in accordance with a divest-or-ban law upheld by the Supreme Court.
