TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, have agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million and introduce new restrictions for teenage users as part of a settlement reached with the US state.
The agreement, announced on Friday, September 25, came days before a trial was scheduled to begin over allegations that TikTok misled parents about measures designed to protect children from harmful content.
Under the settlement, teenagers in Alabama will be subject to a two-hour daily usage limit and will receive prompts to take breaks after 15 minutes of continuous use and again after 60 and 90 minutes.
TikTok will also strengthen age-verification measures, make teen accounts private by default, restrict access between midnight and 6am, suspend cosmetic beauty filters for teenagers and provide an option for users to view a non-personalised content feed.
The company will pay Alabama $100 million in restitution and remediation. The state’s potential payout could rise to as much as $300 million if 40 other state attorneys general enter qualifying agreements with TikTok within a specified period.
Alabama had accused TikTok of misleading consumers about the effectiveness of its safety features and alleged that the platform’s design could expose young users to harmful content and encourage excessive use. TikTok has maintained that teen safety is a key priority in its platform design and disputed the allegations.
The settlement follows a similar agreement reached by Meta in August, under which Facebook and Instagram agreed to introduce stricter limits and protections for teenage users in the United States.
More than a dozen US states, including California and New York, still have active lawsuits against TikTok over alleged harms to young users. The company also reached a separate $400 million settlement with the US Department of Justice in August over allegations concerning children’s online privacy.
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