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The
DOJ said Friday that TikTok will pay $300 million immediately
and another $100 million after an order vacates an earlier
consent decree against its predecessor company, Musical.ly.
“This settlement is a major victory for American children and
parents,” said U.S. Associate Attorney General Stanley E.
Woodward Jr. 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. This resolution secures a substantial recovery
while reinforcing the protections that families expect and
deserve.”
Since the DOJ's lawsuit in 2024, TikTok has undergone major
changes, most notably in the ownership structure of its U.S.
arm. In January, the social video platform company signed
agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake
and the Emirati investment firm MGX to form the new TikTok U.S.
joint venture.
Representatives for TikTok did not immediately respond to a
message for comment Friday.
The latest lawsuit focused on allegations that TikTok and its
China-based parent company ByteDance violated a federal law that
requires kid-oriented apps and websites to get parental consent
before collecting personal information of children under 13. It
also says the companies failed to honor requests from parents
who wanted their children’s accounts deleted, and chose not to
delete accounts even when the firms knew they belonged to kids
under 13.
The settlement comes as social media companies face an avalanche
of lawsuits over children's safety and privacy and a growing
number of countries are banning young kids and teens from social
media apps. Instagram's parent company, Meta Platforms, is
currently on trial in federal court in Oakland, California, over
allegations it violated the 1998 Children’s Online Privacy
Protection Act, or COPPA, along with various state statutes.
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