‘Major victory’ for parents, DOJ says, after TikTok reaches $400M settlement over children’s privacy
Summary
TikTok has reached a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, resolving a 2024 lawsuit that alleged the company violated federal children's privacy laws. The Department of Justice announced that TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million after an order vacates an earlier consent decree against its predecessor company, Musical.ly. "This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents," said U.S. Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. The lawsuit focused on allegations that TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance violated a federal law requiring kid-oriented apps to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from children under 13. It also claimed the companies failed to honor requests from parents to delete their children's accounts. The settlement comes amid a wave of lawsuits targeting social media companies over children's safety and privacy, with Meta Platforms currently facing trial in federal court over similar allegations.
(Source:Pennlive)