TikTok and ByteDance settle US children's privacy lawsuit for $400 million

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US government lawsuit over children's privacy. The Department of Justice said TikTok collected large amounts of personal data from children under 13 without asking parents first. This broke a federal law called COPPA, which has protected children's online privacy since 2000. TikTok will pay $300 million now and $100 million later. The lawsuit was filed in 2024 under President Biden. TikTok's earlier company, Musical.ly, had already paid a $5.7 million fine for breaking the same law. Several US states are also pursuing similar cases against Meta. The $400 million settlement is one of the largest penalties ever paid in a COPPA case.