TikTok has agreed to pay a $400 million settlement to a US lawsuit over child privacy on its platform.

The lawsuit dates back to 2024, when the Department of Justice under former President Joe Biden alleged that TikTok harvested “vast amounts of data” from underage users. TikTok says that it prohibits those under the age of 13 from using its platform.

Collecting data of those under the age of 13 without parental consent is against the US’s Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), which dates back to 2000.

Cases across the US are using the law to target social media firms, with dozens using the COPPA to sue Meta.

The TikTok settlement involves its operations in China as it predates the firm’s forced division of its US business. ByteDance and TikTok will have to pay the Department of Justice $300M – the remaining $100M will be due when the government changes a 2009 decree with the US Federal Trade Commission.

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TikTok is not slated to adopt any changes as part of the settlement, with the DoJ saying that TikTok has already “undergone significant changes” to it privacy practices for young people.

This is just the latest fine hitting social media titans across the US, and states and individuals challenge social media’s grip on the collective consciousness – and data – of young people.