A federal judge on Friday indicated he would reject part of TikTok and ByteDance's proposed $400 million settlement with the U.S. Justice Department, creating uncertainty over the resolution of children's privacy allegations.

U.S. District Judge George H. Wu in the Central District of California tentatively denied a request to end a 2019 consent decree originally imposed on TikTok's predecessor, Musical.ly. The decree requires ongoing reporting and record-keeping obligations through 2029 related to the privacy of users under age 13. Wu wrote that neither TikTok nor the government had shown the obligations were obviated by changes in ownership or compliance measures.

TikTok and ByteDance agreed in August to settle a 2024 Justice Department lawsuit alleging violations of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, or COPPA. The company would pay $300 million immediately and an additional $100 million if the court vacated the Musical.ly consent decree. The settlement marked one of the largest recoveries in a COPPA case.

The lawsuit accused the companies of collecting personal information from children under 13 without parental consent and failing to honor deletion requests. The Justice Department filed the suit under the prior administration, but the settlement was reached during the current term.

Judge Wu scheduled a hearing for Monday to address the tentative ruling. TikTok and the Justice Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The proposed deal followed significant changes to TikTok's U.S. operations, including a January agreement that shifted ownership to a group of non-Chinese investors. The consent decree stems from a 2019 Federal Trade Commission action against Musical.ly that included a $5.7 million fine.