TikTok and ByteDance agree to pay up to $400 million to settle US allegations involving children’s data, parental consent and account deletion.
The post TikTok Agrees to $400M Settlement Over Children’s Privacy appeared first on TechRepublic.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced that TikTok will pay $400 million to settle a 2024 lawsuit over children’s privacy.
“Today, the Department of Justice announced a $400 million settlement with TikTok, ByteDance, and affiliated entities (TikTok) resolving litigation concerning compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and its implementing regulations (COPPA).” reads the press release published by DoJ. “Under the settlement, TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million upon entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree entered against TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly. The settlement represents one of the largest recoveries ever obtained in a COPPA case.”
TikTok will pay $300 million immediately and another $100 million after a court order removes an earlier consent decree involving Musical.ly. The 2024 case, brought by the DoJ and FTC, accused TikTok of knowingly allowing children under 13 to create accounts and illegally collecting data from children using Kids Mode.
Since the Justice Department filed its lawsuit against TikTok in 2024, the company has made major changes to its ownership, management, compliance, and privacy practices. It has also introduced stronger safeguards for younger users, improved age controls, and expanded parental oversight.
The DOJ said these measures have advanced the goals of its case and strengthened protections for millions of U.S. families. The settlement reflects a focus on practical results, securing a significant recovery while recognizing TikTok’s compliance improvements. The case was filed in California and handled by the DOJ’s Civil Division following a referral from the FTC.
“This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. “The Department’s priority is ensuring that children are protected online and that companies entrusted with their personal information meet their legal obligations. This resolution secures a substantial recovery while reinforcing the protections that families expect and deserve.”
TikTok has faced regulatory scrutiny over children’s privacy before. In September 2023, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission fined the company €345 million for breaching the GDPR through its handling of children’s personal data.
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The UK's communications regulator has launched a formal investigation into TikTok age verification, raising questions over whether the platform is adequately protecting children online under the country's Online Safety Act. The move comes as Britain prepares to introduce a social media ban for under-16s, with regulators warning that current age assurance methods used by some platforms may not be sufficient to prevent children from accessing harmful content.
The investigation follows the publication of a new Ofcom report that found age checks are becoming more common across online services, but significant gaps remain, particularly on social media platforms and some pornography websites.
According to Ofcom, some social media companies rely primarily on age inference methods to identify child users. These systems estimate a user's age based on their online behavior rather than verifying it directly.
The regulator said it has "serious doubts" about whether these methods are capable of meeting the standards required under the Online Safety Act. Ofcom believes some companies may be failing to correctly identify a significant number of children, potentially exposing them to harmful content, including pornography, self-harm, and suicide-related material.
As a result, Ofcom has launched a formal investigation into whether TikTok is complying with its legal duties to protect children from harmful content.
The regulator also warned that age inference alone will not be considered sufficient for enforcing the government's planned restrictions on social media use by children under 16. Platforms using such methods have been urged to adopt more effective age assurance technologies or provide compelling evidence demonstrating their effectiveness.
The report found significant progress in the adoption of age checks since the Online Safety Act's child protection duties came into force in July 2025.
Between July 2025 and January 2026, the proportion of children encountering highly effective age checks increased from 25% to 43%.
Ofcom said more than 69 million age checks were completed across a sample of 32 UK services during the second half of 2025, representing a 23-fold increase compared to the previous six months.
The regulator also reported that all of the UK's top 10 pornography websites and most of the top 100 now have age verification measures in place.
Among children aged 8 to 14 who attempted to access pornography, only 8% visited such services. Half of those children reached only websites with age checks, while nearly 87% of their visits lasted less than 30 seconds, suggesting age verification discouraged continued access.
Despite the wider rollout of age assurance, Ofcom found that children can still easily discover pornography websites without age checks through Google Search and Bing.
Its analysis found that 33% of first-page Google search results and 54% of Bing results directed users to pornography websites lacking age verification or equivalent protections.
Following discussions with the regulator, Google and Bing have agreed to work with Ofcom on practical measures to reduce the visibility of such websites in search results.
Meanwhile, Ofcom continues enforcement against adult services that fail to comply with the law. The regulator has opened 23 investigations involving 88 adult service providers, with many either introducing age assurance or blocking UK users after enforcement action.
The investigation comes as the UK government advances plans to introduce a social media ban for under-16s, modeled on Australia's approach.
Under the proposal, platforms including TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and X would be prohibited from offering social media services to users under 16. Messaging services such as WhatsApp and Signal are not expected to be included.
The government also plans to introduce additional protections, including restrictions on livestreaming and communication with strangers for children under 16 across social media and certain gaming platforms. Similar safeguards would apply by default to users aged 16 and 17 to avoid what officials describe as a "cliff-edge" at age 16.
The proposed measures are expected to be presented to Parliament before the end of the year, with implementation targeted for Spring 2027.
Ofcom said it will submit a rapid assessment to Parliament by the end of October outlining what constitutes highly effective age assurance for verifying whether someone is over 16, helping shape future enforcement of the planned restrictions.
Australia’s under-16 social media ban faces scrutiny after testers found major platforms did not ask for age proof.
The post Australia’s Teen Social Media Ban Exposes Age Verification Gap appeared first on TechRepublic.
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