TikTok and ByteDance agree US $400 million settlement with US Department of Justice

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance reached a US $400 million settlement with the US Department of Justice on Friday to resolve a children’s‑privacy lawsuit. Under the agreement TikTok will pay US $300 million immediately and a further US $100 million linked to a 2019 Federal Trade Commission order concerning the former video‑sharing app Musical.ly, which ByteDance acquired in 2017 and later merged with TikTok.

The Department of Justice first sued TikTok in 2024, alleging that the app failed to stop children from joining the service and unlawfully collected their personal data in breach of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The agency further alleged that TikTok continued to collect children’s email addresses, phone numbers and location data and did not comply with parental requests to delete that information, thereby violating the 2019 FTC order that required specific COPPA‑compliant measures.

In a press release the Department of Justice described the settlement as ‘one of the largest recoveries ever obtained in a COPPA case’. The release also noted that TikTok has implemented ‘extensive measures designed to strengthen safeguards for younger users, improve age‑related controls, and enhance parental oversight’.

TikTok responded that many of the allegations ‘relate to past events and practices that are factually inaccurate or have been addressed’. The company has not provided further comment on the settlement.

The development is relevant to digital governance because it concerns the enforcement of COPPA, a US law governing the collection of personal data from children, and illustrates how federal agencies are using civil enforcement actions to address alleged violations by global technology platforms. No determination of liability has been made, and the parties have not offered additional statements at the time of reporting.