TikTok to pay $400 million for collecting children's data without parental consent

The U.S. Department of Justice has reached a settlement with TikTok, ByteDance, and related entities over allegations of violating laws protecting children's online privacy. The total payment amounts to $400 million.

Under the terms of the agreement, TikTok will pay $300 million upfront. An additional $100 million will be transferred after a court ruling related to a previous settlement involving Musical.ly, the short-video app that later became the foundation for TikTok.

The lawsuit was filed in 2024. U.S. authorities accused the platform of collecting and storing personal data from users under the age of 13 without obtaining parental consent. The complaint also cited insufficient enforcement of age restrictions and inadequate safeguards for minors.

The Department of Justice noted that since the investigation began, TikTok has updated its management structure, strengthened parental control tools, and introduced additional age verification mechanisms.

The settlement resolves one of the largest child privacy cases in the U.S. The case centers on the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which requires websites and online services to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13.

In a separate but related development, the European Commission recently fined Google 890 million euros for violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), highlighting the growing regulatory scrutiny of major tech platforms on both sides of the Atlantic.