Todd Blanche vows to 'come after' bad actors following $400M TikTok settlement
· Fox News
Attorney General Todd Blanche praised the Justice Department's $400 million settlement with TikTok over allegations of children's privacy violations, saying the deal is a "fair, just and right result."
Speaking on "Saturday in America," Blanche said the deal addresses TikTok's past actions while helping protect children online.
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"If companies and entities are not doing what they're supposed to do to make sure that happens, we're [going to] come after them," Blanche told host Kayleigh McEnany.
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The DOJ announced the agreement Friday, saying TikTok, ByteDance and affiliated entities agreed to pay $400 million to resolve litigation concerning compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
The DOJ filed the lawsuit under the Biden administration in 2024, and Blanche noted that TikTok has undergone major changes since the initial filing. He said the settlement underscores the U.S. government’s commitment to protecting young people.
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"Since that lawsuit was filed, as folks know, TikTok has undergone a meaningful change in ownership, leadership, management and their practices. And so, this lawsuit and the settlement of it takes into account the changes the company has made since the lawsuit was filed, which is exactly what we should be doing," Blanche said.
"It's a stark reminder and a real important note to anybody out there that we are [going to] protect children, and the internet has got to be a safe place for children," he added.
Fox News Digital reached out to TikTok and ByteDance for comment but did not immediately hear back.
The DOJ said that TikTok has put in place several measures to protect young users, including age-related controls and enhanced parental oversight.
"Those developments have materially advanced the public interests underlying the Department's litigation and have strengthened protections for millions of American families," DOJ officials wrote in a statement.
The attorney general said he was "happy" with the settlement.
"It's a big number. It's a lot of money that they agreed to pay to kind of address what happened in the past to make sure it doesn't happen in the future," Blanche said.
Under the terms of the settlement, TikTok and ByteDance will pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million "upon entry of an order vacating a prior consent decree entered against TikTok’s predecessor, Musical.ly."
Fox News’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.