TikTok Settlement Could Fund Trump’s Massive DC ‘Beautification’ Push: Report

(AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

According to a Friday report from ABC News, the Trump administration is nearing a settlement with TikTok that would direct hundreds of millions of dollars from a child privacy lawsuit into President Donald Trump’s sweeping Washington, D.C. “beautification” efforts.

The proposed agreement would resolve a 2024 lawsuit, started by former President Joe Biden’s administration, accusing TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, of carrying out “massive-scale invasions of children’s privacy” by allegedly collecting data from users under the age of 13 without parental consent.

ABC, citing sources familiar with the discussions, reported that TikTok would pay roughly $400 million under the deal, though the settlement still requires approval from the company’s board and is not expected to include an admission of wrongdoing.

Rather than compensating alleged victims, however, the money would reportedly help fund Trump’s growing list of D.C. “beautification” projects. Sources told ABC the funds could ultimately be routed through the Department of the Interior, the Department of Commerce, or both.

Among the projects reportedly under discussion is Trump’s long-desired 250-foot triumphal arch near Arlington National Cemetery. ABC reported that White House officials have spent weeks discussing whether the settlement funds could legally be used for the project.

On Thursday, Trump toured parts of the National Mall while promoting his administration’s plans to overhaul the capital city, telling reporters his team was “working on some other jobs” and specifically highlighting the planned arch, which he claimed would break ground “very soon.”

The ABC report importantly noted that the arrangement could raise ethical concerns given Trump’s direct involvement in helping broker TikTok’s continued operation in the United States. Earlier this year, TikTok finalized a deal creating a new American venture backed by Oracle, Silver Lake, and other investors after Trump delayed enforcement of a federal ban targeting the platform.

As ABC also mentions, the proposed arrangement would also mark a notable departure from the Trump administration’s own past criticism of settlements that do not directly compensate victims. During Trump’s first term, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions moved to ban certain third-party settlement payments, while former Attorney General Pam Bondi reinstated a similar policy this year.

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