TikTok and ByteDance Pay $400 Million to Settle Privacy Lawsuit

TikTok Inc. and its parent company ByteDance Ltd. agreed to pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit brought by the United States Department of Justice. The legal action, filed in 2024 on behalf of the Federal Trade Commission, alleged that the companies violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act by permitting children under 13 to create accounts without parental consent and hindering parents' attempts to delete those accounts.

Under the settlement terms, TikTok will make an initial payment of $300 million, followed by an additional $100 million once a prior consent decree involving Musical.ly is vacated. Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. described the resolution as a major victory for American children and parents.

This settlement follows a January agreement that transferred portions of TikTok's U.S. operations to an American-led venture including Oracle Corp., Silver Lake Management LLC, and MGX to mitigate national security concerns. Despite this resolution, TikTok continues to face thousands of separate lawsuits concerning child safety and privacy.