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TikTok to pay $400m to settle US children’s privacy lawsuit
The deal requires $300m upfront and an additional $100m after a court order vacates a prior FTC consent decree tied to TikTok predecessor Musical.ly.
TikTok and its Chinese former parent company ByteDance have agreed to a $400m settlement to resolve US Department of Justice allegations over children’s online privacy, after the DOJ sued in August 2024.
Under the settlement terms described by the DOJ, TikTok will pay $300m immediately, plus an extra $100m if a court enters an order vacating a prior consent decree involving the Federal Trade Commission.
The government said the case centered on a law requiring online services aimed at children to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from users under 13. DOJ associate attorney general Stanley Woodward said the department’s priority is ensuring children are protected online and that companies meet their legal obligations.
The FTC previously entered a 2019 consent decree against TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly, and described failures to get parental consent for collecting information including children’s names and email addresses, following which Musical.ly paid a $5.7m fine, and the DOJ said TikTok has since made changes to ownership, management, compliance functions, and privacy practices.