RismadarVoice Reporters, August 22, 2026
TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the United States Department of Justice over alleged violations of federal children’s privacy laws.
Under the agreement announced on Friday, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately, while the remaining $100 million will be paid after a court order vacates an earlier consent decree involving its predecessor company, Musical.ly.
The lawsuit, filed in 2024, accused TikTok and its China-based parent company, ByteDance, of violating federal requirements designed to protect children under 13 from the collection of personal information without parental consent.
The companies were also accused of failing to properly respond to parents’ requests to delete their children’s accounts and of retaining accounts despite knowing that some belonged to children under 13.
US Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. described the settlement as a major victory for American children and parents, saying it would strengthen protections for children’s personal information online.
The settlement comes amid growing scrutiny of social media companies over children’s safety and privacy, with several platforms facing lawsuits and some countries introducing restrictions on young users’ access to social media.
Since the 2024 lawsuit, TikTok has also undergone significant changes, including a restructuring of the ownership of its US operations involving investors such as Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX.
