TikTok has reached an agreement to pay $400m (£293m) to the US, settling a lawsuit that alleged the platform violated children's privacy. This marks one of the largest settlements concerning child privacy issues.
The agreement stems from a 2024 lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden. The suit claimed TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, collected "vast amounts of data" from millions of users under the age of 13, contravening the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Under the terms of the deal, TikTok and ByteDance will make an immediate payment of $300m to the DOJ. An additional $100m will be paid once the government vacates a 2019 consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission. The justice department did not detail any further action against TikTok beyond the fine.
Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate stated that "Children and parents are better protected today than they were when this case began." The lawsuit was filed before last year's split of TikTok's US business and operations from its original base in China, with the settlement specifically involving TikTok's operations in China.