TikTok to Pay $400 Million in Settlement Over Children’s Privacy in the US - Sarmad

The U.S. Department of Justice announced that the short-video platform TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle U.S. allegations regarding the collection of children’s personal data.

The department stated that the settlement does not include an admission of wrongdoing, noting among other things changes in the ownership of TikTok’s U.S. operations and reforms to its privacy practices.

The Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against TikTok in 2024 under then-President Joe Biden, accusing the platform of allowing children under the age of 13 to create accounts without parental consent.

The department said that TikTok violated the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

U.S. internet platforms generally set a minimum age of 13 in compliance with regulations. However, children can circumvent these restrictions by entering false birth dates, and critics have long accused technology companies of not doing enough to prevent children from doing so.

President Donald Trump pushed for a deal that would transfer majority ownership of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a new company backed by U.S. investors in early 2026.

The deal secured TikTok’s future in the United States after about a year of uncertainty.

Under U.S. law, ByteDance, the China-based parent company of TikTok, was required to divest its U.S. operations for the app to continue operating in the country. ByteDance remains the controlling owner of TikTok worldwide.