The Justice Department said Friday that TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, will pay $400 million to end a lawsuit over children’s online privacy rules.
The companies will pay $300 million now and $100 million once a judge vacates an older consent decree that hit Musical.ly, which was merged with TikTok. Officials called the sum one of the largest ever paid out under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The companies do not have to admit fault, according to the terms of the deal.
“This settlement is a major victory for American children and parents,” Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr said in a statement. “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.”…