TikTok and ByteDance Agree to $400M Privacy Settlement
TikTok and ByteDance agreed to a $400 million settlement Friday. The deal is with the US Department of Justice.
It resolves claims that TikTok violated children's online privacy. TikTok is a short-form video app.
ByteDance is TikTok's former Chinese parent company. The Department of Justice sued TikTok and ByteDance in August 2024.
The lawsuit said they failed to protect children's privacy. It claimed they collected data on millions of users under 13.
The Federal Trade Commission joined the case with the Justice Department. They cited the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
That law limits how companies can collect children's data online. The claims included letting children under 13 keep accounts.
In 2019 TikTok's earlier version Musical.ly settled a similar case. That settlement was for $5.7 million. TikTok has since improved age checks and privacy tools, reports say.
Key Terms 4
- ByteDance TikTok's former Chinese parent company.
- Federal Trade Commission US agency that protects consumers and enforces privacy rules.
- Children's Online Privacy Protection Act US law limiting how companies collect children's data online.
- Musical.ly An earlier app that later became TikTok.