TikTok and its parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a US government lawsuit accusing the social media platform of illegally collecting children’s personal data.
The out-of-court settlement, announced by the US Department of Justice ends the case without the allegations being tested at trial and without any determination of liability.
The case was brought in 2024 under the Biden administration by the DOJ and Federal Trade Commission. The government accused TikTok of knowingly allowing millions of children under age 13 to create regular accounts and collecting and retaining their personal information without parental consent.It also alleged that TikTok frequently failed to delete children’s accounts and data when requested by parents.
The resolution comes against the backdrop of US President Donald Trump’s dramatic reversal on TikTok. During his first term, Trump sought to effectively ban the Chinese-owned platform on national security grounds unless ByteDance relinquished control of its US operations. By the 2024 presidential campaign, however, he opposed efforts to ban it, arguing that its disappearance would benefit rival Meta.
“If you get rid of TikTok, Facebook and Zuckerschmuck will double their business,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in March 2024, referring to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “I don’t want Facebook, who cheated in the last Election, doing better. They are a true Enemy of the People!”
