U.S. District Judge George H. Wu has signaled he may reject a key portion of TikTok's proposed $400 million children's privacy settlement with the U.S. Justice Department. Under the August 2026 deal, TikTok agreed to pay $300 million immediately, with $100 million contingent on terminating a 2019 consent decree. Judge Wu tentatively refused to lift the 2019 order, stating the parties failed to show the oversight obligations are no longer necessary despite TikTok's recent compliance and structural changes.
Consent decree termination rejection
- ▪U.S. District Judge George H. Wu scheduled a court hearing for September 21, 2026, regarding the tentative rejection of the consent decree termination.
- ▪U.S. District Judge George H. Wu stated that the court cannot determine that terminating the 2019 consent decree constitutes a durable remedy or is suitably tailored to the asserted change in circumstance.
- ▪U.S. District Judge George H. Wu in Los Angeles indicated on September 18, 2026, that he was inclined to reject the request to terminate a 2019 consent decree as part of TikTok's proposed $400 million settlement.
Contingent $100 million payment
- ▪If the court permanently refuses to vacate the 2019 consent decree imposed on TikTok's predecessor Musical.ly, the U.S. government will collect $300 million instead of the full $400 million, and TikTok's reporting and record-keeping obligations under that 2019 decree will continue
- ▪Under the proposed $400 million settlement agreed to in August 2026, TikTok would pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million only if a court terminates the 2019 consent decree imposed on TikTok's predecessor Musical.ly
2019 Musical.ly decree obligations
- ▪The 2019 consent decree stemmed from Federal Trade Commission allegations that Musical.ly, later folded into TikTok, collected personal information from young children without parental consent, resulting in a $5.7 million fine.
- ▪The 2019 consent decree imposed on TikTok's predecessor Musical.ly by the Federal Trade Commission requires TikTok to maintain reporting and record-keeping obligations through 2029, take offline videos made by users under 13, and destroy improperly collected data
Children's privacy law violations
- ▪The 2024 U.S. Justice Department lawsuit accused TikTok and ByteDance of violating a federal law requiring online services aimed at children to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information.
- ▪The proposed $400 million settlement stems from a 2024 U.S. Justice Department lawsuit accusing TikTok and ByteDance of failing to protect children's privacy and illegally collecting personal information from users under 13.
TikTok compliance improvements
- ▪In January 2026, ByteDance agreed to establish a majority American-owned joint venture to safeguard U.S. user data and avert a U.S. ban.
- ▪The TikTok U.S. joint venture stated in a court filing that it requires all users to enter their date of birth and has developed age-moderation systems to identify children under 13.
- ▪The U.S. government argued for terminating the 2019 consent decree imposed on TikTok's predecessor Musical.ly because TikTok has undergone significant changes to its ownership, management, compliance functions, and privacy practices since the 2024 Justice Department lawsuit against TikTok and ByteDance
Debatable claims
- ▪The US government should not allow companies to buy their way out of consent decrees
- ▪TikTok's new age-moderation systems sufficiently protect children's privacy
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