TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to the United States government to settle allegations that it violated federal children’s privacy laws, making it one of the largest settlements of its kind.
TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, will pay the US Department of Justice (DOJ) after authorities accused the social media platform of collecting large amounts of personal information from millions of children under the age of 13 without obtaining the required parental consent.
The case dates back to 2024, when the Biden administration sued TikTok over alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a US law designed to protect children’s personal information online.
Under the settlement, TikTok and ByteDance will immediately pay $300 million to the Justice Department. A further $100 million will be paid after the government ends a 2019 agreement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) involving Musical.ly, the predecessor to TikTok.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate said the agreement would provide stronger protections for children and parents.
The US government had previously accused TikTok of failing to properly determine the ages of its users and of allowing children under 13 to use the platform without obtaining parental permission.
When the lawsuit was filed, US officials said TikTok had more than 170 million users in the country and argued that the platform was attracting children while failing to adequately protect their data.
The settlement comes amid growing scrutiny of how major social media platforms collect and use children’s information.
Google’s YouTube previously paid $170 million in 2019 to settle allegations that it violated COPPA. Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, agreed to pay $275 million in 2022 over alleged violations involving children’s privacy.
Meta is also facing a major legal battle in the US after attorneys general from 29 states accused the company of violating children’s privacy laws through its Facebook and Instagram platforms.
TikTok’s US operations have changed
The lawsuit against TikTok began before major changes were made to the company’s US business.
TikTok’s American operations were separated from its previous structure last year, with a consortium of investors now owning about 81% of the US business. ByteDance retains a 19% stake.
The Justice Department said TikTok has also made significant changes to its ownership structure, privacy practices and controls designed to protect younger users since the original lawsuit was filed.
The settlement, however, does not mean the US government has abandoned scrutiny of TikTok.
The company has faced years of pressure in Washington over concerns surrounding children’s safety, data privacy and its ownership by Chinese company ByteDance.
In 2024, former President Joe Biden signed legislation that sought to force ByteDance to divest TikTok’s US operations or face a ban. Donald Trump later supported the divestment approach, which ultimately led to the restructuring of the company’s American operations.
Why the TikTok settlement matters
The $400 million TikTok settlement highlights the increasing legal pressure on social media companies over how they handle children’s personal information.
For parents, the case also raises concerns about how easily children can access social media platforms and whether companies are doing enough to verify users’ ages and obtain parental consent.
TikTok has not publicly commented on the settlement so far.
The agreement is also likely to increase pressure on other technology companies to strengthen age-verification systems and privacy protections for children as governments around the world introduce stricter rules for young internet users.
