TikTok has agreed to a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, concluding a 2024 lawsuit that accused the social media platform of violating federal children's privacy regulations.
Under the terms disclosed by the DOJ on Friday, TikTok is required to pay $300 million upfront. An additional $100 million will be delivered following a court order vacating a previous consent decree issued against Musical.ly, the app's predecessor.
"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.
According to the government, TikTok has substantially overhauled its ownership structure, management team, compliance operations and privacy protocols since the initial legal filing.
DOJ stated the agreement "ensures that American families continue to benefit from stronger protections without the delay and uncertainty of protracted litigation."
In a court filing, the TikTok US joint venture noted that all users are required to submit their birth date upon joining. The platform added that it created advanced age-screening tools to spot children under 13 who falsely state their age.
Additionally, the document explained that TikTok employs hundreds of team members dedicated to youth moderation, removing tens of thousands of ineligible accounts as a consequence.
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.
Additional reporting by Reuters