TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay up to $400 million to settle a U.S. government lawsuit accusing the platform of illegally collecting personal data from children under 13.
The Justice Department announced the settlement on August 21, bringing an end to a case filed in 2024 over alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA.
Under COPPA, online platforms must notify parents and receive consent before knowingly collecting personal information from children younger than 13.
The government alleged that TikTok allowed millions of underage children to create standard accounts where they could upload videos, send messages and interact with other users while the company continued collecting their data.
Under the settlement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately. An additional $100 million could become due if an earlier consent decree involving TikTok predecessor Musical.ly is overturned.
Officials described the agreement as one of the largest settlements ever secured in a COPPA case.
The lawsuit also alleged that children could bypass TikTok’s age restrictions using third-party accounts and that some employees spent only seconds reviewing accounts suspected of belonging to underage users.
TikTok’s separate Kids Mode was also questioned. Authorities claimed the platform collected more information than necessary and, until at least mid-2020, shared some data with Facebook and analytics company AppsFlyer.
Between 2019 and 2022, TikTok was further accused of collecting more than 300,000 reports containing children’s email addresses and keeping that information longer than necessary.
Officials also alleged that the company sometimes failed to delete children’s accounts and personal information after parents requested removal.
The Justice Department said TikTok has since made significant changes to its privacy protections, age controls and parental oversight systems. The settlement resolves the allegations without a legal finding that TikTok or ByteDance were liable.