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TikTok and ByteDance will pay $400 million to settle a US lawsuit over alleged violations of children’s privacy rules. The Justice Department announced the agreement, calling it one of the largest recoveries under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
The TikTok child privacy settlement ends litigation that began in 2024. Federal officials accused the companies of collecting data from children under 13 without parental consent. The complaint also claimed TikTok failed to remove some children’s accounts after parents requested deletion.
Under the agreement, TikTok and ByteDance must pay the Justice Department $300 million immediately. They will pay another $100 million after a court cancels a 2019 consent decree involving Musical.ly, TikTok’s predecessor. ByteDance bought Musical.ly in 2017 and later combined it with TikTok.
Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. called the deal “a major victory for American children and parents.” He said online companies must follow their legal duties when handling children’s personal information. The settlement avoids the cost, delay and uncertainty of a longer court case.
The 2019 order followed a Federal Trade Commission case against Musical.ly. The company paid $5.7 million and agreed to seek parental consent before collecting data from users under 13. It also agreed to remove all videos that children under 13 had posted.
The FTC once called Musical.ly’s $5.7 million payment the largest civil penalty in a children’s privacy case. Federal actions later produced larger payments. Google and YouTube paid $170 million in 2019, while Epic Games paid $275 million in 2022. Both cases involved claims that companies collected young users’ personal data. Authorities said the companies failed to obtain parental consent required under federal privacy law.
The Justice Department and FTC sued TikTok and ByteDance in California federal court in August 2024. Prosecutors said the platform knowingly allowed children under 13 to create standard accounts. Those accounts let users post videos, exchange messages and interact with adults.
The government also alleged that TikTok collected names, email addresses and other personal details without proper parental approval. According to the complaint, the company sometimes kept children’s data after parents asked it to delete accounts. Officials further claimed TikTok made age checks less effective during registration.
Federal lawyers said more than 170 million people in the United States used TikTok when they filed the case. COPPA requires covered online services to notify parents and obtain consent before collecting personal information from children under 13. The department said the claims remain allegations and that no court determined liability.
The Justice Department said TikTok changed its ownership, management, compliance work and privacy practices after the lawsuit began. The platform also added stronger age controls, parental oversight tools and safeguards for younger users. The department did not announce extra operating conditions beyond the settlement payment.
TikTok’s US business now operates through a majority American-owned joint venture involving Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX. ByteDance retains a 19.9% interest. Court filings say users must enter their birth dates to access the service. TikTok also uses age-moderation systems to identify children who report false ages.
The company says trained staff review suspected underage accounts and remove tens of thousands of them. Meanwhile, the TikTok child privacy settlement arrives during wider federal and state scrutiny of social media services. Meta currently faces a separate trial over claims involving COPPA and state laws.
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