Agreement resolves 2024 Department of Justice complaint over data collection on users under 13
WASHINGTON:TikTok and its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a federal lawsuit accusing the short-video platform of unlawfully harvesting personal data from children under 13 without parental consent.
The agreement, announced Friday by the U.S. Department of Justice, resolves a complaint filed in August 2024 following a referral from the Federal Trade Commission. Federal prosecutors alleged that TikTok systematically violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by permitting young children to open accounts, collecting their personal details, and ignoring parental requests to delete the data.
Under the terms filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, TikTok will pay $300 million upfront. The remaining $100 million will be remitted after a court order vacates a 2019 consent decree involving Musical.ly, the predecessor app acquired by ByteDance in 2017.
“This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents,” U.S. Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. said in a statement. “The Department’s priority is ensuring that children are protected online and that companies entrusted with their personal information meet their legal obligations.”
The government’s 2024 complaint detailed how TikTok permitted children under 13 to create standard accounts outside its limited “Kids Mode”. Federal officials noted that even within the restricted mode, the app collected personal information, including email addresses, without proper parental notification or opt-in consent. The company also failed to act on requests from parents seeking the removal of their children’s accounts.
Justice Department officials acknowledged that TikTok has implemented substantial internal restructuring since the litigation began. In January, ByteDance finalized a restructuring agreement establishing a distinct U.S. entity backed by American and international investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based investment firm MGX.
The settlement coincides with broader regulatory pressure on social media networks globally. In the U.S., Instagram parent company Meta Platforms is currently defending itself in federal court in Oakland, California, against similar COPPA and state privacy claims. Internationally, European Union regulators opened formal proceedings under the Digital Services Act to examine TikTok’s default privacy settings for minors.
Justice Department representatives clarified that the settlement resolves allegations without a formal finding of liability. TikTok representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
