California Judge Halts Part of TikTok’s $400 Million Privacy Settlement
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California Judge Halts Part of TikTok's $400 Million Privacy Settlement
- A California federal judge tentatively rejected a portion of TikTok's $400 million settlement with the U.S. government regarding alleged children's privacy violations, potentially keeping additional oversight on the social media platform.
- U.S. District Judge George H. Wu on Friday, September 18, 2026, tentatively denied a request to vacate an earlier order originally imposed on Musical.ly, TikTok's predecessor.
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A California federal judge has tentatively blocked a key part of the $400 million settlement reached between TikTok and the U.S. government concerning alleged children’s privacy violations. U.S. District Judge George H. Wu, in the Central District of California, on Friday, September 18, 2026, tentatively denied a request to vacate an order that was initially imposed on Musical.ly, the app that Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. acquired and developed into TikTok. This order specifically addresses privacy protections for users under the age of 13.
Judge Wu stated that neither TikTok nor the U.S. government had demonstrated that the obligations outlined in the earlier order were no longer necessary. The ruling could impact a portion of TikTok’s $400 million settlement, which was agreed upon with the U.S. government in August 2026 to resolve child privacy allegations. Out of the total settlement, $100 million was contingent on the vacating of this earlier consent decree.
The judge indicated his intention to maintain oversight of TikTok’s privacy practices, adding another layer of complexity to TikTok’s U.S. operations, which have been under government scrutiny for years due to the platform’s Chinese ownership. The original lawsuit, filed in 2024, alleged violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and obligations from the 2019 court order involving Musical.ly. The 2019 order, stemming from a Federal Trade Commission settlement, required Musical.ly to comply with children’s privacy laws, remove videos from users under 13, and destroy improperly collected data or obtain parental consent. The Justice Department had argued that changes in TikTok’s ownership, management, and compliance measures since the 2024 complaint made the previous order unnecessary.