The U.S. Department of Justice said TikTok has reached a $400 million settlement to end a 2024 lawsuit alleging violations of federal children’s privacy laws, according to reporting carried by Headline USA and adapted from the Associated Press.
What DOJ says is in the deal
The DOJ said Friday that TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and another $100 million after a court order vacates an earlier consent decree against its predecessor company, Musical.ly.
In a statement quoted by the source report, U.S. Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. called the resolution “a major victory for American children and parents,” adding that the department’s priority is protecting children online and ensuring companies meet legal obligations.
What the lawsuit alleged
The latest case focused on allegations that TikTok and its China-based parent ByteDance violated a federal law requiring kid-focused apps and websites to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13, the AP report said. It also alleged the companies did not honor requests from parents seeking deletion of their children’s accounts and failed to delete accounts known to belong to users under 13.
Shifts inside TikTok’s U.S. arm
Since the DOJ’s 2024 lawsuit, TikTok has undergone changes in the ownership structure of its U.S. arm, according to the source report. In January, the company signed agreements with major investors—including Oracle, Silver Lake, and Emirati investment firm MGX—to form a new TikTok U.S. joint venture, the report said. Representatives for TikTok did not immediately respond to a message for comment on Friday, per the same report.
The bigger backdrop
The settlement arrives amid mounting litigation over children’s safety and privacy on social media, and as a growing number of countries move to ban or restrict young users on such platforms, according to the AP-sourced report. Instagram parent Meta Platforms is currently on trial in federal court in Oakland, California, over allegations it violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and various state statutes, the report said.
