TikTok and ByteDance to pay $558 million over alleged child privacy violations

TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have agreed to pay $A558 million over allegations the social media giant illegally collected children’s personal information.

The Justice Department sued TikTok and ByteDance in 2024 for allegedly failing to protect children’s privacy and illegally collecting their information.

The companies were accused of violating a law requiring online services aimed at children to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from users under the age of 13.

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said the Justice Department’s priority “is ensuring that children are protected online and that companies entrusted with their personal information meet their legal obligations.”

In January, ByteDance agreed to establish a majority American-owned joint venture to secure US data and avoid a US ban on the app, which is used by more than 200 million Americans.

The US Justice Department noted that since the complaint was filed, TikTok has undergone significant changes to its ownership, management, compliance functions and privacy practices.

The Justice Department said the settlement “ensures that American families continue to benefit from stronger protections without the delay and uncertainty of protracted litigation.”

The TikTok US joint venture said in a court filing it requires all users to enter their date of birth to use the site.

TikTok said it has developed sophisticated age-moderation systems to identify children under 13 who misrepresented their age.

The court filing said TikTok has hundreds of personnel trained in underage moderation and, as a result, deletes tens of thousands of underage accounts.

In Australia, TikTok is among the social media platforms required to prevent children under 16 from holding accounts under laws that took effect last year.