TikTok Reaches $400 Million Settlement with US Justice Department Over Children’s Privacy Violations
WASHINGTON — August 21, 2026 — TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that the video-sharing platform violated federal children’s privacy laws, the department announced on Friday, August 21 .
The settlement, described by the Justice Department as one of the largest recoveries ever obtained under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), ends a 2024 lawsuit that accused the platform of allowing children under 13 to create accounts and collecting their personal data without parental consent .
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Payment Structure and Settlement Terms
Under the settlement agreement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately, with an additional $100 million to follow after a court dismisses a prior consent decree involving its predecessor, Musical.ly .
The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission jointly sued TikTok in 2024, alleging the platform:
- Violated COPPA by allowing children under 13 to create accounts
- Failed to delete accounts and data when parents requested removal
- Continued collecting personal information from users it knew were underage
- Gathered email addresses and other data even through “Kids Mode” accounts intended for younger users
Justice Department Statement
“This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward Jr. in a statement . “The Department’s priority is ensuring that children are protected online and that companies entrusted with their personal information meet their legal obligations. This resolution secures a substantial recovery while reinforcing the protections that families expect and deserve” .
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division added that “companies that collect children’s personal information must comply with the law,” noting that the settlement “reflects the Department’s commitment to ensuring children receive the full protections that Congress mandated” .
Significant Changes in TikTok’s U.S. Operations
Since the lawsuit was filed in 2024, the Justice Department noted that TikTok has undergone “significant changes to its ownership, management, compliance functions, and privacy practices” .
The platform is now controlled by TikTok USDS Joint Venture, which is majority-owned by American investors following a 2024 law requiring ByteDance to divest from the app or face a U.S. ban . ByteDance now maintains a 19.9 percent ownership stake in TikTok US . In January, the company signed agreements with major investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and the Emirati investment firm MGX to form the new joint venture .
TikTok has implemented extensive measures to improve safeguards for younger users, including age-moderation systems and requiring all users to enter their date of birth. The company maintains it deletes tens of thousands of underage accounts through these systems .
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Context of Growing Social Media Regulation
The settlement comes as social media companies face increasing scrutiny and lawsuits over children’s safety and privacy, with a growing number of countries banning young kids and teens from social media apps . The Federal Trade Commission secured similar COPPA settlements with Google’s YouTube ($170 million in 2019) and Epic Games ($275 million in 2022) . Meta is currently facing a jury trial in a lawsuit brought by attorneys general from 29 U.S. states, where penalties could potentially exceed hundreds of billions of dollars .
The 2019 consent decree against Musical.ly, which ByteDance acquired in 2017 and subsequently merged into TikTok, had required a $5.7 million fine and compliance measures, including the implementation of parental consent procedures for underage users .
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