TikTok to pay $400 million in US child privacy settlement over alleged violations
TikTok and ByteDance have agreed to a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice regarding violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The lawsuit alleged that the platform unlawfully collected data from children under 13 and failed to honor parental requests to delete accounts.
Why it matters
This settlement is a major enforcement action regarding digital privacy for minors, setting a precedent for how social media companies must handle data compliance for younger users.
TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US department of justice lawsuit alleging violations of federal children's privacy laws. The settlement marks one of the largest recoveries under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (Copra).Under the settlement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and a further $100 million after an order is entered vacating an earlier consent decree involving TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly, the DOJ said in a release.The justice department had sued TikTok and ByteDance in 2024, alleging that the companies unlawfully collected children's personal information and failed to comply with requirements to obtain parental consent for users under 13.The lawsuit also alleged that TikTok failed to honour parents' requests to delete children's accounts, including in cases where the company knew the accounts belonged to users under 13."This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents," US associate attorney…
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