TikTok, ByteDance and affiliated companies have agreed to pay $400 million to settle a major U.S. government lawsuit alleging the video platform improperly collected and retained personal information from children under 13 without required parental consent.
The settlement, announced by the U.S. Department of Justice on August 21, 2026, resolves litigation filed in 2024 under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The DOJ described it as one of the largest recoveries ever obtained in a COPPA case.
How the $400 million TikTok settlement works
TikTok will pay $300 million immediately. Another $100 million will be paid when a court enters an order vacating an earlier consent decree involving Musical.ly, the short-video app acquired by ByteDance and later merged into TikTok.
The U.S. Department of Justice said the case followed a referral from the Federal Trade Commission.
The settlement is US$400 million. Australian coverage has converted that to about A$559 million, which explains why both figures may appear in reports about the case.
Why did the US government sue TikTok?
The Justice Department filed the lawsuit in August 2024 in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.
Federal authorities alleged TikTok knowingly allowed children under 13 to create accounts and collected personal information from them without notifying their parents or obtaining verifiable parental consent.
The government also alleged TikTok failed in some cases to honor parents’ requests to delete children’s accounts and information, and did not remove certain accounts after determining they belonged to children.
COPPA establishes privacy requirements for covered online services collecting personal information from children under 13, including rules concerning parental notice and consent.
What did the government allege about Kids Mode?
The complaint also focused on TikTok’s experience for younger users. Since 2019, the company offered a restricted U.S. experience for people who identified themselves as under 13 during registration.
Federal authorities alleged TikTok nevertheless collected certain information from children using this experience, including email addresses. The government also alleged some children could bypass the platform’s age gate and gain access to the regular TikTok service.
The case therefore raised a wider question for social platforms: what companies must do when they know or have reason to identify accounts belonging to children, rather than simply relying on the age entered at registration.
Why Musical.ly matters to the case
The dispute stretches back to Musical.ly. ByteDance acquired the app in 2017 and later combined it with TikTok.
In 2019, U.S. authorities reached an earlier COPPA settlement involving Musical.ly that included a $5.7 million civil penalty and requirements concerning children’s information. The 2024 lawsuit alleged TikTok later violated COPPA and obligations connected with that earlier court order.
Did TikTok admit wrongdoing?
No. The new agreement resolves the federal litigation, but the Justice Department says the claims are allegations and there has been no determination of liability.
That means the settlement should not be described as a court finding that every government allegation against TikTok was proven.
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What has TikTok changed?
The DOJ says TikTok has undergone significant changes since the lawsuit was filed, including changes involving ownership, management, compliance functions and privacy practices.
According to the government, TikTok has implemented measures designed to strengthen safeguards for younger users, improve age-related controls and increase parental oversight.
Why the settlement matters beyond TikTok
The agreement arrives amid growing scrutiny of social media companies over children’s privacy and safety. Meta is facing a separate major legal challenge, with a Meta child safety trial putting Facebook and Instagram under scrutiny over allegations involving younger users.
The case also reflects broader concerns about how companies store and protect personal information. The risks surrounding sensitive customer data have been highlighted separately by incidents including the Origin Energy data breach affecting about 900,000 customers.
Outside the U.S., European regulators have scrutinized TikTok’s protections for minors, while Britain’s Ofcom has investigated whether the platform is meeting child-safety obligations, including requirements involving age assurance.
Australia has taken a tougher approach with its social media minimum-age framework, requiring covered platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent Australians under 16 from holding accounts.
Can TikTok users claim part of the $400 million?
The announcement does not create a $400 million compensation fund for TikTok users or parents. The money resolves government litigation, so families should not assume they are entitled to a payment because a child used TikTok.
For parents, the larger issue is how platforms verify age, obtain required consent, handle deletion requests and protect information belonging to younger users.
For TikTok, the settlement resolves a major U.S. privacy lawsuit but not the wider regulatory pressure. Age verification, parental controls and children’s data practices remain central issues as governments worldwide impose tougher expectations on social media platforms.
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