TikTok and ByteDance to pay $400M to settle DOJ children's privacy case — 70x the 2019 penalty

TikTok and ByteDance will pay $400 million to settle DOJ allegations they allowed millions of users under 13 on the platform and collected their data without parental consent, violating COPPA. The sum is roughly 70 times the $5.7 million tied to a 2019 consent order the companies were found to have breached. TikTok admits no wrongdoing; the deal mandates stronger age controls and parental oversight.