The ministry said that TikTok will pay $300 million immediately, with an additional $100 million to be paid after a judicial decision is issued to cancel a previous consent decree imposed on the “Musical” company, which preceded “TikTok.”
The Justice Department described the settlement as one of the largest amounts ever recovered in a case related to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.
The settlement does not include an admission by TikTok or ByteDance of committing violations, nor has a judicial ruling been issued proving their responsibility for the accusations included in the lawsuit.
The case dates back to a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice in 2024, during the administration of former President Joe Biden, after the file was referred to it from the Federal Trade Commission.
The US authorities accused the platform of allowing children under the age of 13 to create accounts, use the application, and collect and retain their personal information without obtaining the consent of their parents.
The lawsuit also included accusations of not deleting some children’s accounts and data, despite receiving requests from parents or the company knowing that the account holders had not reached the legal age.
The US government considered that these practices, if proven, violate the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known by the abbreviation “Cuba,” which requires digital services to obtain parental consent before collecting the data of children under the age of 13.
