Justice Department, TikTok Reach $400 Million Settlement Over Children's Privacy Suit
By Kelly Cloonan
The Justice Department and TikTok reached a $400 million settlement to resolve allegations the social-media company violated laws meant to protect the online privacy rights of children.
Under the settlement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million after entering an order vacating a prior consent decree against its predecessor Musical.ly, the DOJ said Friday.
The DOJ filed a complaint against TikTok in 2024, alleging it failed to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA. The law requires internet companies to notify parents, and obtain their consent, before collecting personal information from children under the age of 13.
Since then, TikTok has rejiggered its ownership, management, compliance functions and privacy practices, and implemented measures aimed at improving its safeguards for younger users, age-related controls and parental oversight, the DOJ said.
The settlement represents one of the largest recoveries ever obtained in a COPPA case, the DOJ said.
TikTok and its Chinese owner ByteDance didn't immediately respond to a request for comment. TikTok has previously said it disagreed with the allegations.
Write to Kelly Cloonan at kelly.cloonan@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
August 21, 2026 16:51 ET (20:51 GMT)
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