California Judge Tentatively Blocks $100M TikTok Settlement

A federal judge in California has tentatively declined to lift a 2019 consent decree governing TikTok’s privacy practices, keeping court oversight of data involving children under 13. The decree was imposed on Musical.ly, which ByteDance later acquired and transformed into TikTok, after allegations that the service collected children’s personal information without parental consent. The ruling creates uncertainty for TikTok’s proposed $400 million settlement with the Justice Department because $100 million of the payment is contingent on vacating the earlier order, while $300 million would be paid immediately. Judge George H. Wu said neither TikTok nor the government had shown that the decree’s protections were no longer necessary or that the company’s ownership, compliance systems and privacy practices represented a durable remedy. The decision is tentative, with a hearing on the request to vacate the decree scheduled for September 21.