Yesterday, the Department of Justice announced that its legal actions against TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, over alleged violations of children's online privacy laws had concluded with a $400 million settlement. The settlement now ranks among the "largest recoveries ever obtained" under the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
The initial lawsuit was brought against TikTok under the Biden administration, with allegations including "massive-scale invasions of children's privacy" and repeated failure to "comply with parents' requests to delete their children's accounts and information," according to the initial complaint. Though the dollar amount of the settlement is certainly steep, the terms of the deal allow TikTok to vacate all charges, avoid further litigation arising from the initial complaint, and admit no wrongdoing.
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In fact, the Department of Justice's own press release acknowledges that "TikTok has undergone significant changes to its ownership, management, compliance functions, and privacy practices," giving the company a much-needed PR win going forward. The DOJ, on the other hand, is portraying this as a victory for online privacy.
