TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, have agreed to pay $400 million to the US government to settle allegations that the platform violated children’s privacy laws.
The lawsuit, filed by the US Department of Justice in 2024, accused TikTok of collecting large amounts of personal data from millions of users under 13 without obtaining the required parental consent, in violation of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
Under the settlement, TikTok and ByteDance will pay $300 million immediately, with a further $100 million due once the government ends a previous agreement with the Federal Trade Commission. The case follows a $5.7 million COPPA fine against TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly, in 2019.
The settlement is one of the largest US penalties involving children’s online privacy. Other companies fined under COPPA include YouTube, which paid $170 million in 2019, and Epic Games, which paid $275 million in 2022.
The Justice Department said TikTok has since made significant changes to its ownership structure, privacy practices and controls for younger users. The settlement relates to TikTok’s operations in China, while its US business is now majority-owned by a group of investors, with ByteDance retaining a minority stake.
