US judge may reject part of TikTok deal — Channel NewsAsia
US federal judge George Wu in Los Angeles said he is inclined to deny TikTok and ByteDance's motion to terminate a 2019 consent order with the US Federal Trade Commission. This could affect a proposed $400 million settlement of the dispute with the US Department of Justice, Channel NewsAsia reports.
Terms of the proposed settlement
In August, TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance agreed to settle allegations of violating US laws on children's online privacy. The proposed agreement provided for an immediate payment of $300 million and another $100 million if the court terminates the FTC order concerning TikTok's predecessor, the Musical.ly service.
Judge Wu scheduled a hearing on the matter for Monday. In a preliminary assessment, he said that without further details, the court cannot determine whether the proposed mechanism is a long-term remedy and whether terminating the order properly corresponds to the stated changed circumstances.
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Obligations through 2029
In 2019, the FTC said that Musical.ly knew that young children were using the platform but did not obtain parental consent before collecting names, email addresses and other personal information. Musical.ly then paid a $5.7 million fine to settle those claims.
The consent order requires TikTok to comply with certain reporting and record-keeping requirements through 2029. The Department of Justice lawsuit filed in 2024 alleged that TikTok and ByteDance failed to properly protect children's privacy and unlawfully collected their personal data. It concerned a law requiring online services directed at children to obtain parental consent before collecting information on users under the age of 13.
In January, ByteDance agreed to establish a joint venture with predominantly US ownership to protect US user data and avoid a ban on the app. In a court filing, TikTok's US joint venture said it requires all users to provide their date of birth and uses systems to detect children under 13 who gave a false age.
