TikTok settles Alabama child safety lawsuit for at least $100 million

TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million to settle a lawsuit accusing the platform of harming children with addictive features, and will introduce a two-hour daily limit and nighttime restrictions for minors in the state.

TikTok has reached a settlement with the state of Alabama in a child safety lawsuit, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced on September 25. Under the deal, the company will pay the state at least $100 million within 45 days, and the total could reach $300 million if certain conditions are met.

The settlement sets a two-hour daily time limit for children, which parents can lower further, restricts access between midnight and 6 a.m., and limits messaging and notifications overnight and during school hours. Teens will also be interrupted by “productive pauses” after 15, 60 and 90 minutes of continuous use.

TikTok also agreed to strengthen age verification, give teens a nonpersonalized feed by default, make teen accounts harder for adults to find, alert parents to suspicious adult-teen interactions and ban cosmetic filters for teen users.

Alabama had accused TikTok of designing its platform to be addictive, knowingly exposing young users to serious mental health harms and misleading the public about the app’s safety. The settlement came days before Alabama was set to become the first state to take such claims against TikTok to trial. TikTok did not admit wrongdoing.

“This is a great day for Alabama parents,” Marshall said. “Tonight, they can rest easier knowing real protections are in place to shield their children from the dangers of social media addiction.”