TIKTOK AGREES $400 MILLION SETTLEMENT OVER CHILD PRIVACY VIOLATIONS

TikTok and ByteDance have reached a $400 million settlement with the United States Department of Justice to resolve a lawsuit alleging violations of child privacy laws. The suit, filed in 2024 by the Justice Department under the Biden administration, claimed that TikTok allowed millions of children under 13 to create accounts and collected their personal data without required parental consent. The settlement represents one of the "largest recoveries ever obtained" for a case related to the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), according to the Justice Department.

The original lawsuit also alleged that TikTok breached an earlier agreement with the Federal Trade Commission related to its acquisition of Musical.ly, and that the company "frequently failed" to comply with parental requests to delete children's data. The settlement terms specify that TikTok will pay $300 million immediately, with the remaining $100 million due after a prior FTC agreement is vacated. In its statement announcing the settlement, the Justice Department noted that TikTok has "undergone significant changes to its ownership, management, compliance functions, and privacy practices," and has "implemented extensive measures designed to strengthen safeguards for younger users, improve age-related controls, and enhance parental oversight."

The settlement comes after TikTok finalised a restructuring of its United States business earlier this year, creating TikTok USDS Joint Venture, controlled by investors including Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX, with ByteDance retaining a 19.9 per cent stake. The Justice Department said the company's developments "have materially advanced the public interests underlying the Department's litigation and have strengthened protections for millions of American families." The settlement concludes one of several regulatory challenges TikTok has faced in recent years over privacy practices and corporate structure.