TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have reached a settlement with the US Department of Justice to resolve allegations of collecting data from millions of users under 13 years old, in violation of federal child privacy laws.

TikTok and ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the US Department of Justice in 2024, which accused the platform of illegally collecting personal data from minors. The settlement represents one of the largest penalties ever imposed for violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a federal statute from 2000 designed to safeguard children's online privacy. Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate stated that the resolution strengthens protections for children and families.

Under the settlement terms, TikTok and ByteDance will immediately transfer $300 million to the Department of Justice, with an additional $100 million due once the government vacates a 2019 consent decree with the Federal Trade Commission. The predecessor company Musical.ly must also pay $5.7 million in fines and obtain parental consent for users under 13. When the lawsuit was initially filed, US authorities reported that over 170 million teenagers were actively using TikTok, with evidence suggesting the application was intentionally directed toward young users despite lacking adequate age verification mechanisms.

This settlement follows a pattern of significant penalties for child privacy breaches. YouTube paid $170 million in 2019, while Epic Games paid $275 million in 2022 for similar violations. Meta currently faces substantially larger potential penalties, with attorneys general from 29 US states pursuing claims that could result in hundreds of billions of dollars in fines. A jury trial in Meta's case commenced this week. The Department of Justice acknowledged that TikTok has implemented considerable operational changes since the lawsuit was filed, including modifications to ownership structures, privacy procedures, and youth user safeguards.