TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the US Department of Justice over alleged violations of federal children’s online privacy laws.
The settlement, announced by the US Department of Justice on Friday, resolves claims that TikTok unlawfully collected and used personal data from children without complying with US privacy protections.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), US authorities accused TikTok of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) by failing to obtain the required parental consent before collecting information from users under the age of 13.
The Justice Department said the case centered on TikTok’s handling of children’s personal information, including allegations that the platform did not adequately protect the privacy rights of young users as required under federal law.
The agreement is one of the largest privacy-related settlements involving a social media platform in the United States and comes as regulators continue to increase scrutiny of how technology companies collect, store, and use children’s data.
TikTok has faced mounting legal and political pressure in the United States over the past several years, with concerns ranging from children’s privacy and data security to the platform’s ties to China through its parent company, ByteDance.
The $400 million settlement resolves the privacy lawsuit but does not end broader regulatory and national security challenges facing TikTok in the United States, where lawmakers and federal agencies continue to examine the company’s data practices and operations.
