ByteDance and TikTok agreed to pay $400 million to settle U.S. allegations that the platform illegally collected personal data from children under 13 without parental consent, the Department of Justice announced on Friday.
The settlement resolves a 2024 lawsuit filed by the Justice Department, which accused TikTok and its parent company of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act. The law requires online services directed at children to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from users under 13.
As part of the agreement, a court filing shows the lawsuit against both companies will be dismissed with prejudice. The settlement follows a January arrangement in which ByteDance committed to establishing a majority American-owned joint venture to manage U.S. user data, a move aimed at addressing national security concerns and averting a potential ban of the app.
TikTok, which has over 200 million users in the United States, did not admit wrongdoing in the settlement. The company has previously stated it implemented additional safeguards for younger users, including defaulting accounts of users under 13 to private settings and limiting data sharing with third parties.
