TikTok, Meta Face Growing Legal and Regulatory Crackdown Over Children’s Privacy and Safety

Social media companies are increasingly coming under fire for violations of children's privacy (Image source: © 123rf 123rf )

The Department had sued the company and its parent ByteDance over its compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act.

Under the agreement, TikTok will pay $300m immediately and an additional $100m later.

Since the Justice Department first filed its complaint in 2024, TikTok has already changed its practices, implementing improved safeguards for younger users, tighter age controls, and enhanced parental oversight.

The Justice Department said those developments were in line with the public interest and better protection for the "millions of American families" who use TikTok.

The case was started following similar violations by TikTok's predecessor Musical.ly in the past.

That company was fined already in 2019 by the US Federal Trade Commission for illegal harvesting of personal data from minors.TikTok did not comment on the DoJ settlement.

How children engage with social media

Driven by growing concerns about children’s exposure to harmful online environments, governments worldwide are reassessing how children engage with digital platforms.

Several European countries are exploring stricter online safety measures, while debates in the United Kingdom and elsewhere continue around age restrictions, platform accountability and parental controls. Australia has banned social media access for children under 16.

Since 2010, research conducted by the Youth Research Unit (YRU) of the Bureau of Market Research (Pty) Ltd has highlighted increasing exposure to violence, cyberbullying, exploitation and sexually explicit content.

Such exposure can negatively affect children’s mental health, emotional wellbeing, behaviour and social development. Supporters argue that children’s developmental vulnerability warrants greater protection until they are better equipped to engage with digital platforms safely and responsibly.

European Commission Tiktok preliminary findings

Earlier in July, the European Commission issued preliminary findings that TikTok may have breached the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) by failing to ensure adequate safety and privacy protections for minors.

The charges, which are the fourth allegation against TikTok in ⁠the space of two years, expose the ByteDance-owned social media platform to potential fines of up to six percent of global annual turnover.

Meta lawsuits

TikTok is not the only social media entity under fire for its child protection policies.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, is facing a host of regulatory and legal actions in Europe and beyond.

In California, a court recently heard claims Meta deliberately designed its platforms to be addictive to young people, as the biggest legal challenge the social media giant has faced began.

The US trial could reportedly cost Meta $1.4tr in damages and is expected to last six to eight weeks.

The four US states in court are seeking billions of dollars from Meta - they're acting on behalf of a group of 29 states that filed a lawsuit in 2023 arguing the company violated child privacy laws.

Besides damages, the attorneys general bringing the case are also asking the court to order that changes be made to Meta’s platforms to protect young social media users.

Among other measures, they are demanding that Meta implement a process of parental verification for teenage users; change its “dopamine-manipulating” algorithms; remove image filters for users’ personal images; forbid the creation of multiple accounts; and end “disappearing” messages and posts.

Aljazeera reports that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to testify in court, together with the head of Instagram.

This will be the second time this year that the Facebook founder has testified, after his February 2026 appearance in a Los Angeles court over similar allegations against Meta.

Meta lost that multimillion-dollar case, brought by a young woman referred to as KGM, over platform features linked to addiction in younger users, in March.

Earlier this month, a judge in New Mexico also ordered Meta to pay $567m and change how its platforms function for young users in the state after ruling that the company was to blame for harming children’s mental health.

During the court case, protesters and campaigners gathered outside the courthouse, including parents who said social media contributed to their children's deaths.