TikTok will pay Alabama at least $100 million and adopt new teen-safety measures modeled on Meta's recent state agreements, including a two-hour daily cap, overnight access restrictions, and a ban on beauty filters for minors. The settlement could rise to $300 million if other states sign similar pacts. Dozens of related lawsuits against TikTok remain active, and the deal spares the company a trial that might have exposed internal documents.
TikTok Settles With Alabama: $100M Payment and New Teen Safety Rules Mirroring Meta Deal
The trial of TikTok in Alabama comes as social media companies face a wave of litigation across the United States over the harm their apps allegedly cause young users (Nicolas TUCAT)
TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million and implement a suite of new protections for teenage users, avoiding a trial that had been scheduled to begin this week. The settlement is modeled on recent agreements reached between several US states and Meta and could expand to a total of $300 million if other states accept similar terms.
Key safeguards in the agreement include a two-hour daily time limit for teen accounts, restricted access between midnight and 6:00 a.m., silenced notifications during school hours, stronger age verification, a ban on beauty filters for minors, and the option of a non-personalized content feed for younger users. The deal also contains a conditional clause to extend the overnight blackout to 10:00 p.m.–7:00 a.m. if other platforms adopt comparable commitments.
“Tonight, they can rest easier knowing real protections are in place to shield their children from the dangers of social media addiction,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said after announcing the settlement.
TikTok said the agreement builds on its existing safety tools. A company spokesperson told AFP that TikTok's priority is to foster a safe, positive space where people can be creative and discover what they love, and that the settlement furthers efforts to protect teens.
More than a dozen other states, including California and New York, still have active lawsuits against TikTok. The company has previously resolved other cases that were headed for trial, such as litigation in Los Angeles and a suit brought by a Kentucky school district.
Going to trial would have risked unprecedented public scrutiny of TikTok's internal practices, potentially exposing company documents and executive testimony. Alabama originally sued TikTok and its parent, ByteDance, alleging the app was engineered to hook young users “just like a sophisticated gambling machine.” The state later narrowed its claims under Alabama's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, focusing on whether features such as "Restricted Mode" and "Kids Mode" performed as TikTok claimed. According to court filings, users in those modes were nonetheless shown material on suicide, self-harm, eating disorders, alcohol and sex.
Meanwhile, Meta has faced its own legal challenges: in August it agreed to an $18 billion settlement with states over Instagram and Facebook, and recent jury verdicts have found the company liable in other child-safety cases. The TikTok-Alabama settlement reflects growing regulatory and legal pressure on social platforms to tighten protections for minors.
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