TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US legal dispute over its collection of children’s personal data, the Department of Justice said.
The settlement includes no admission of wrongdoing and follows changes to TikTok’s US ownership and privacy practices.
Lawsuit focused on under-13 accounts
The lawsuit, filed in 2024 during Joe Biden’s presidency, accused TikTok of allowing children under 13 to create accounts without parental consent, in violation of US law.
Although online platforms require users to be at least 13, children can bypass restrictions by entering a false date of birth. Technology companies have faced accusations of deliberately failing to enforce these limits.
In January, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, handed control of its US operations to a consortium controlled by American investors to secure the platform’s future in the country.
Source: AMNA
