TikTok to Pay $400 Million to Settle U.S. Children's Privacy Lawsuit

TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million, approximately 50 billion Icelandic króna, to settle a lawsuit brought by the U.S. Justice Department concerning alleged violations of children's privacy. The social media giant was accused of collecting personal data from children under 13 without parental consent, thereby breaching the U.S. Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

The settlement mandates TikTok to pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million later. The Justice Department highlighted that this sum represents one of the largest payments ever secured in a case involving COPPA violations. The lawsuit, initiated in 2024 by the Justice Department and the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC), alleged that TikTok permitted children to use its platform and collected their data without parents' knowledge or consent. Concerns were raised even about data collected from children using a special 'Kids Mode' designed for those under 13.

ByteDance, TikTok's Chinese parent company, is also a party to the settlement. This agreement comes at a time when governments globally are intensifying their scrutiny of social media platforms regarding child protection. In July, the European Union accused TikTok of failing to adequately protect children, citing account settings that could increase the risk of cyberbullying and predatory behavior. Similarly, the UK's communications regulator, Ofcom, launched an investigation into TikTok in July, examining the platform's age verification processes and its efforts to shield children from harmful content.