On Friday, September 18, TikTok’s and ByteDance’s proposed $400 million settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice hit a roadblock as a federal judge hinted at rejecting certain key aspects of the agreement.
In August of this year, TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance agreed to settle around $400 million with the Department of Justice over allegations of violating the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in the United States.
The case originated from a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice in 2024. U.S. law requires that online services targeting children must obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from users under the age of 13. The Department of Justice accused TikTok and ByteDance of inadequately protecting children’s privacy and illegally collecting personal information from children.
According to reports from Reuters, under the agreement, TikTok agreed to immediately pay $300 million. If the court agrees to terminate the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) 2019 consent decree against TikTok’s predecessor Musical.ly, TikTok will pay an additional $100 million.
On Friday, U.S. District Judge George H. Wu in Los Angeles indicated that he is inclined to reject the request to “terminate the 2019 consent decree” and scheduled a hearing for next Monday.
Judge Wu pointed out that the details provided by both parties are insufficient, and the court “cannot determine whether this constitutes a lasting effective remedy or whether the decision to terminate the decree addresses the alleged ‘change in circumstances’ properly.”
In 2019, the FTC accused Musical.ly (later merged into TikTok) of knowingly allowing young children to use the app without obtaining parental consent before collecting personal information such as names and email addresses. Musical.ly at that time paid a $5.7 million fine to settle the related charges.
The consent decree requires TikTok to continue fulfilling specific reporting and record-keeping obligations until 2029.
The U.S. government has stated that since the litigation began, TikTok has undergone significant changes, including ownership structure, management, compliance functions, and privacy protection measures.
In January of this year, ByteDance agreed to establish a joint venture controlled by U.S. entities aimed at protecting American user data and avoiding a complete ban of TikTok in the United States (the app currently has over 200 million users in the U.S.).
In a court filing, the TikTok U.S. joint venture stated that the platform now requires all users to enter their birthdate when accessing the app. Additionally, the company has developed an advanced age verification system capable of identifying children under 13 who falsify their age.
Currently, both TikTok and the Department of Justice have not responded to the judge’s preliminary decision.