Home / Crime and Justice / Judge Questions TikTok's $400M US Privacy Settlement
Judge Questions TikTok's $400M US Privacy Settlement
19 Sep
Summary
- A federal judge may reject part of TikTok's $400 million US settlement.
- The settlement addresses allegations of violating children's privacy laws.
- The judge questioned ending a 2019 consent decree related to privacy.
A proposed $400 million settlement between TikTok, its parent company ByteDance, and the US Justice Department has encountered a judicial roadblock. US District Judge George H. Wu expressed an inclination to reject a portion of the agreement, casting doubt on the resolution of a lawsuit concerning children's privacy.
The settlement, agreed upon in August, aimed to resolve allegations that TikTok violated US children's online privacy laws. It stipulated an immediate payment of $300 million and an additional $100 million contingent on the termination of a 2019 consent decree imposed by the Federal Trade Commission on Musical.ly, TikTok's predecessor.
Judge Wu indicated that without further details, the court could not ascertain if ending the consent decree would constitute a durable remedy or be suitably tailored to the changed circumstances. The FTC had previously found that Musical.ly collected personal information from young users without parental consent, leading to a $5.7 million fine for the company.
The current consent decree imposes reporting and record-keeping obligations on TikTok until 2029. The lawsuit, filed in 2024, accused TikTok and ByteDance of illegally collecting personal data from users under 13, violating laws requiring parental consent. The government acknowledged TikTok's significant operational changes, including its ownership structure and privacy practices, since the suit's inception.
