TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US Justice Department lawsuit alleging that the social media platform failed to properly protect children’s online privacy.
The settlement was announced by the Department of Justice, which said TikTok would pay $300 million immediately and a further $100 million after a court approves an order ending an earlier consent decree involving Musical.ly, the predecessor to TikTok.
“This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. said. He said the agreement would provide a significant financial recovery while strengthening protections expected by families.
The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission sued TikTok in 2024, accusing the platform of collecting personal information from children without obtaining permission from their parents.
According to the lawsuit, even accounts created through TikTok’s “Kids Mode”, which was designed for users under 13, collected email addresses and other personal information.
The case has its origins in a 2019 legal action against Musical.ly under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA. ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, acquired Musical.ly in 2017 and later merged the service into TikTok.
COPPA requires online services to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13.
The Justice Department said TikTok had undergone significant changes in ownership, management, compliance operations and privacy practices since the 2024 lawsuit was filed.
According to the department, the company has introduced measures aimed at strengthening protections for younger users, improving age controls and giving parents greater oversight of children’s accounts.
Officials said those measures had improved safeguards for millions of families in the United States.
The settlement comes as US authorities increase scrutiny of major social media platforms over their handling of children’s data and online safety. Regulators have increasingly focused on whether companies adequately verify users’ ages and prevent children from accessing services or features not intended for them.
The agreement also resolves a long-running dispute involving TikTok’s relationship with Musical.ly and the earlier consent decree imposed following the 2019 case.
The financial terms require TikTok to make the first $300 million payment immediately. The remaining $100 million will become payable once the court enters an order vacating the previous consent decree connected to Musical.ly.
The settlement does not amount to an admission of wrongdoing beyond the terms agreed by the parties.
The Justice Department said the changes introduced by TikTok since the lawsuit began have strengthened its privacy and child-safety practices.
TikTok was contacted for comment but had not responded at the time of publication.
