TikTok to pay US$400mil settlement in US children’s privacy case

TikTok and parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay US$400 million to settle a lawsuit with the US justice department over claims that the video-sharing platform violated federal children’s privacy laws, the department announced on Friday.

“Under the settlement, TikTok will pay US$300 million immediately and an additional US$100 million upon entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree entered against TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly,” the department said in a statement.

It’s “one of the largest recoveries ever obtained” from a case involving the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), the statement continued.

COPPA bars websites from gathering the personal information of children younger than 13 without parental permission.

The justice department and Federal Trade Commission jointly sued TikTok in 2024, alleging that it had placed the safety of millions of children in jeopardy by collecting their personal data without parental permission.

They claimed that TikTok allowed children to use the app in addition to collecting and using personal data from young users without letting their parents know.

Even accounts created in a “Kids Mode” intended for users younger than 13 gathered email addresses and other personal information, the suit claimed.

In 2019, the US filed a COPPA lawsuit against an app called Musical.ly, which ByteDance bought in 2017 and then merged into TikTok.

TikTok did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

According to an ABC News report in May, the Trump administration was considering using the funds for ongoing “beautification” projects, which have included resurfacing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, renovating the White House ballroom and building an arch.

It was not immediately clear what the settlement funds will be used for.