US nears $400m TikTok settlement over child privacy violations

The Justice Department is nearing a $400 million settlement with TikTok and its parent company ByteDance over allegations the platform collected personal data from millions of American children under 13 without parental consent, according to people familiar with the negotiations.

The settlement, expected within days, would resolve a 2024 lawsuit that accused TikTok of violating federal children's privacy laws. The department alleged that millions of children under 13 had been using the platform and that TikTok collected and retained their personal information in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

The allegations

The 2024 complaint, filed in federal court in Washington, said TikTok knowingly allowed children under 13 to create accounts. It then harvested their data without the parental notice and consent required by law. The platform's terms of service prohibit users under 13. The government said TikTok failed to enforce that restriction.

"Millions of American children under age 13 have been using TikTok," the lawsuit stated. It said the company "has been collecting and retaining children's personal information" in ways that violated federal privacy protections.

The case ranks among the largest federal enforcement actions against a social media platform over child privacy. It followed years of regulatory scrutiny of TikTok's data practices in the United States and Europe.

Settlement structure

The $400 million payment is one of the largest privacy settlements the Justice Department has secured. People familiar with the talks said the funds would go toward beautification and infrastructure projects in Washington. The Trump administration has pushed to direct settlement proceeds toward federal district improvements.

The White House declined to comment. The Justice Department and TikTok did not respond to requests for comment.

Wider context

The settlement comes as the Trump administration has intensified scrutiny of major technology platforms. The Justice Department has pursued antitrust cases against Google and Apple. The Federal Trade Commission has opened investigations into data practices at several large social media companies.

TikTok, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, has faced particular US government pressure over national security concerns tied to its Chinese ownership. A separate law requiring ByteDance to divest TikTok or face a US ban remains in legal limbo. Court challenges continue.

The privacy settlement does not resolve the broader national security case, officials said.

Previous enforcement

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA, has driven several major privacy settlements. In 2022, Epic Games paid $275 million to settle FTC allegations that Fortnite collected data from children without parental consent. Google paid $170 million in 2019 to resolve YouTube-related COPPA violations.

TikTok itself paid $5.7 million to the FTC in 2019 over similar allegations. It agreed to a separate $92 million class-action settlement related to user privacy in 2021.

The current settlement's scale reflects the size of TikTok's US user base, which exceeds 170 million, and the duration of the alleged violations.

What happens next

The settlement requires final approval from Justice Department leadership and a federal judge. Once approved, TikTok would need to implement additional privacy safeguards and submit to compliance monitoring, people familiar with the matter said. The company has not admitted wrongdoing as part of the agreement.