TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a Justice Department lawsuit accusing the social media platform of violating a federal law designed to protect children’s privacy online, the DOJ announced Friday.
Under the settlement, the company will immediately pay $300 million, according to the Justice Department. Another $100 million will be paid after a court dismisses an earlier consent decree involving TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly.
The DOJ sued TikTok and ByteDance in 2024, accusing the popular video-based social media platform of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA.
The federal law prohibits online platforms from collecting personal information from users younger than 13 without obtaining consent from their parents.
Federal officials alleged TikTok allowed children under 13 to create accounts on the platform. The government also accused the company of failing to delete accounts and personal information belonging to children after their parents requested that the data be removed.
Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. hailed the agreement as a significant win for families.
“This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents,” Woodward 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,” he continued.
Woodward said the agreement provides the government with a substantial financial recovery while reinforcing privacy protections expected by American families.
The Hill reached out to TikTok seeking comment.
The Justice Department noted that TikTok has undergone major changes since the federal government initially filed the lawsuit two years ago.
According to the DOJ, those changes have involved the company’s ownership, management, privacy practices and compliance functions.
TikTok is now controlled by TikTok USDS Joint Venture, an entity majority-owned by American investors.
The ownership change followed legislation passed by Congress in 2024 requiring ByteDance to divest itself of the social media app or face a ban in the United States.
The push for the divest-or-ban legislation was fueled by privacy and national security concerns involving ByteDance’s connections to China.
After taking office, President Donald Trump repeatedly delayed the deadline for enforcing the potential ban while attempting to reach an agreement with Beijing that would allow TikTok to remain available to American users.
Trump signed off on an agreement last September that transferred control of TikTok to the joint venture.
Under that arrangement, ByteDance retained a 19.9% stake in the company.
Silver Lake, Oracle and MGX each received a 15% stake and are considered managing investors in the venture.
The $400 million settlement now resolves the DOJ lawsuit alleging TikTok and ByteDance violated federal protections governing how online platforms collect and handle personal information belonging to children under the age of 13.
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