TikTok agrees to $400 million settlement over child privacy case
TikTok agrees to major child privacy settlement
TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice.
The case concerns allegations that TikTok violated federal children’s privacy rules by collecting personal information from users under the age of 13 without proper parental permission.
The Justice Department announced the settlement on Friday, describing it as one of the largest recoveries connected with a case involving the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, commonly known as COPPA.
Under the agreement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately. The company will pay another $100 million after a court order is entered to cancel an earlier consent decree involving Musical.ly, TikTok’s predecessor.
The settlement brings a major legal dispute over the platform’s treatment of young users closer to an end.
What did US authorities allege?
The US Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission filed a joint lawsuit against TikTok in 2024.
Authorities alleged that the platform put millions of children at risk by collecting and using their personal information without properly informing their parents or obtaining the required permission.
US law generally prohibits online services from collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.
The authorities claimed TikTok allowed children to continue using the platform while gathering information about them. The alleged data included email addresses and other personal details.
The case also raised concerns about TikTok’s system for younger users. According to the lawsuit, even accounts created through a special “Kids Mode” were allegedly able to collect personal information.
The allegations placed greater attention on how major social media platforms verify users’ ages and protect children who access their services.
How Musical.ly became part of the case
The legal dispute also goes back several years before TikTok became the focus of the latest case.
In 2017, ByteDance acquired Musical.ly, a popular short-video application. The company later merged Musical.ly into TikTok, creating the platform now used by millions of people around the world.
The US government had already taken legal action against Musical.ly in 2019 over alleged violations of children’s privacy requirements.
The earlier case became part of the background to the latest legal proceedings involving TikTok and ByteDance.
The new settlement therefore covers concerns that authorities say continued after the transition from Musical.ly to TikTok.
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What is COPPA?
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act is a US law designed to protect children under 13 when they use online services.
The law places requirements on companies that collect personal information from young users. One of the key requirements is obtaining parental permission before collecting certain information from children.
The rules also require companies to provide parents with information about their data practices and give them certain rights over their children’s information.
The TikTok case highlights the growing pressure on technology companies to ensure that children’s data is handled according to these requirements.
It also shows why age verification and parental controls have become important issues for social media platforms.
