TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US government lawsuit accusing the social media platform of violating federal privacy protections for children. The settlement resolves allegations that TikTok allowed children under the age of 13 to use the platform and collected their personal information without obtaining the required consent from parents or guardians.
The US Department of Justice announced the settlement with TikTok and affiliated entities, bringing an end to a legal case filed in 2024 over alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA. The law requires online services directed at children, or those that knowingly collect information from children under 13, to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal data.
Under the agreement, TikTok will make an immediate payment of $300 million. The remaining $100 million will be paid after a court enters an order vacating an earlier consent decree involving Musical.ly, the predecessor to TikTok. US authorities described the settlement as one of the largest recoveries obtained in connection with federal child privacy protections.
The lawsuit, brought by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission in August 2024, alleged that TikTok knowingly allowed children below the age of 13 to establish accounts despite its obligation to prevent them from accessing the service. Authorities further alleged that the company collected personal information from young users, including those using a special “Kids Mode”, and did not adequately respond when parents sought the deletion of their children’s accounts and data.
The government’s case also focused on whether TikTok had effectively enforced its own age restrictions. According to the allegations, children were able to continue using the platform even after the company had identified them as being underage. The authorities argued that the practices represented a significant failure to comply with federal requirements intended to give parents greater control over how their children’s information is collected and used online.
The case was also linked to an earlier regulatory action involving Musical.ly. In 2019, the FTC had imposed a $5.7 million penalty on the company for collecting information from children under 13 without proper parental consent. TikTok subsequently introduced a children’s mode designed to limit certain features available to younger users. However, US authorities later alleged that the company continued to face problems in identifying and removing accounts belonging to children.
TikTok has previously disputed several of the government’s allegations, arguing that many of the practices cited in the case concerned older policies and procedures that had since been changed or addressed. The settlement, however, allows the company to resolve the litigation without the case proceeding further through the courts.
The agreement comes at a time of growing regulatory scrutiny of social media companies over their handling of children’s data and online safety. TikTok, Meta, Google and other major technology platforms have faced increasing pressure in the United States and other countries over concerns about the impact of their services on young users.
The settlement also comes amid broader changes to TikTok’s US operations. Since the lawsuit was filed, the company has undergone significant changes involving its ownership structure, management and approach to data protection. TikTok’s US business has also introduced stronger age-verification measures and increased efforts to identify and remove accounts belonging to underage users.
The US government’s action against TikTok reflects a wider effort to make technology companies more accountable for protecting children’s personal information. Regulators have increasingly argued that platforms cannot simply rely on users to provide accurate ages and must take meaningful steps to prevent children from accessing services or features that are not intended for them.
The $400 million agreement does not bring an end to the broader legal and regulatory scrutiny facing TikTok. The platform continues to face separate investigations and lawsuits in the US and elsewhere concerning children’s safety, privacy and the way its services are designed for younger users.
For US regulators, the settlement represents a significant enforcement action under federal child privacy law. For TikTok, it removes one major legal challenge while placing renewed focus on whether its updated safeguards can effectively prevent children from using the platform and ensure that their personal information is protected.
