Scoop: DOJ, TikTok settle for $400 million in children's privacy suit - Axios

The Biden administration's DOJ originally filed the suit in 2024, accusing TikTok and parent company ByteDance of breaking the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. The settlement clears those allegations without TikTok admitting any wrongdoing or facing further litigation.

The DOJ's release noted that since the lawsuit was filed, TikTok has undergone significant changes to its ownership, management, compliance functions, and privacy practices. It represents one of the largest resolutions of its kind under children's privacy law.

For parents in Lubbock, this hits close to home. TikTok is one of the most-used apps among middle and high schoolers across the South Plains, and the core allegation was that the platform collected data on kids without proper parental consent. The settlement does not force TikTok to change specific practices going forward, at least not beyond what the company says it has already done voluntarily.

$400 million sounds enormous until you consider ByteDance's reported annual revenues, which makes this settlement look closer to a rounding error than a punishment.