SAN FRANCISCO, United States: TikTok has agreed to pay $400 million to settle a lawsuit with the US Department of Justice over claims that the video-sharing platform violated federal children’s privacy laws, the department announced on Friday. Regulators around the world have been ramping up enforcement against social media companies that violate laws around protecting children’s data, privacy and safety. Chinese company ByteDance — which sold off a majority stake of its US entity earlier this year in order to avoid a ban by the Trump administration — is also named as part of the settlement.

Federal prosecutors accused TikTok of collecting and keeping data from children without notifying parents or receiving consent.

Under the settlement, TikTok will pay US$300 million immediately and an additional US$100 million upon entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree entered with the Federal…

The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission jointly sued TikTok in 2024.