TikTok to Pay $400 Million to Settle US Lawsuit Over Children’s Privacy

TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US government lawsuit alleging that the video-sharing platform violated federal laws protecting children’s online privacy, the US Department of Justice said Friday.

The settlement comes as regulators worldwide intensify scrutiny of social media companies over the collection of children’s data and online safety.

TikTok’s parent company, ByteDance, is also covered by the agreement. ByteDance sold a majority stake in its US TikTok business earlier this year amid efforts to avoid a ban by the Trump administration, while retaining a 19.9% stake, according to US media reports.

Under the settlement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and another $100 million after a court order vacates a previous consent decree involving Musical.ly, the app ByteDance acquired in 2017 and later merged with TikTok.

The Justice Department described the deal as one of the largest recoveries in a case involving the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which prohibits websites from collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.

The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission sued TikTok in 2024, alleging that the platform collected and used children’s personal information without informing or obtaining permission from their parents.

The lawsuit alleged that children could access TikTok and that even accounts created through a “Kids Mode” for users under 13 collected information such as email addresses and other personal data.

The US had previously pursued a COPPA case against Musical.ly in 2019. ByteDance acquired the app two years earlier before merging it with TikTok.

TikTok did not immediately comment on the settlement.

The agreement comes amid increasing regulatory pressure on TikTok in Europe and Britain.

The European Union launched a probe into TikTok under the Digital Services Act in 2024. In July, the EU accused the platform of failing to adequately protect children through its account settings, warning that minors could be exposed to risks including cyberbullying and predatory behaviour.

The EU said children’s accounts should generally be visible only to people they have authorised, and stressed that strong protections for minors should be the default rather than an optional feature.

Britain’s communications regulator Ofcom also opened an investigation into TikTok in July to determine whether the platform is doing enough under UK law to protect children from harmful content.

The probe will examine TikTok’s compliance with its legal obligations, including its system for verifying users’ ages.