TikTok to Pay $400 Million to Settle US Children's Privacy Lawsuit

The settlement requires an immediate payment of $300 million, with a final $100 million installment contingent upon the vacating of a previous consent decree tied to Musical.ly, the app ByteDance acquired and merged into TikTok in 2017. Federal regulators initiated the lawsuit in 2024, arguing that the platform endangered millions of minors by harvesting personal information without parental consent.

Investigators highlighted that even accounts designated under a restricted "Kids Mode" were found to be collecting email addresses and other sensitive data from users younger than 13. By operating in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, the company failed to secure the necessary authorization to track its youngest users. TikTok has not yet provided a statement regarding the resolution of these federal claims.