TikTok reaches $400 million settlement with US Justice Department over children's privacy
- TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a 2024 U.S. Justice Department lawsuit over alleged violations of federal children's privacy laws.
- Under the agreement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and another $100 million after a court order vacates an earlier consent decree involving Musical.ly.
- The lawsuit alleged that TikTok and its China-based parent ByteDance collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent.
- The DOJ also said the companies failed to honor parents' requests to delete children's accounts and kept some accounts active even when they knew the users were under 13.
- TikTok has since changed its U.S. ownership structure, including a January agreement with Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX to form a new U.S. joint venture.
- The settlement comes amid broader global scrutiny of social media companies over child safety and privacy.
TikTok has agreed to a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, closing a 2024 lawsuit that accused the company of violating federal children's privacy rules. The department said TikTok will pay $300 million now and a further $100 million after a court order removes an earlier consent decree tied to Musical.ly, the app it acquired in the past.
The case centered on claims that TikTok and ByteDance collected personal data from children under 13 without getting parental consent, did not delete accounts when parents asked, and sometimes kept accounts active even after learning the users were underage. TikTok did not immediately comment on Friday.
The settlement removes one legal overhang for TikTok's U.S. operations, but the company remains part of a wider policy and regulatory debate over children's privacy and social media access. For markets, the effect is likely neutral overall, with a modestly positive read-through for social-media equities because it reduces litigation uncertainty, while TikTok itself is not publicly traded.
TikTok就儿童隐私案与美国司法部达成4亿美元和解
TikTok已同意与美国司法部达成4亿美元和解，从而结束一宗于2024年提起的诉讼。该诉讼指控公司违反联邦儿童隐私规定。司法部表示，TikTok将先支付3亿美元，待法院撤销与其前身Musical.ly相关的一项早前同意令后，再支付1亿美元。
这起案件的核心指控是，TikTok及字节跳动在未取得家长同意的情况下收集13岁以下儿童的个人信息，没有在家长要求时删除账户，并且在得知用户未满13岁后仍保留部分账户。TikTok周五未立即回应置评。
这项和解消除了一部分针对TikTok美国业务的法律不确定性，但该公司仍处在围绕儿童隐私和社交媒体使用的更广泛监管争议之中。就市场影响而言，整体偏中性；对社交媒体相关股票可视为略偏利好，因为诉讼风险有所下降，但TikTok本身并非上市公司。