TikTok agrees to pay Alabama at least $100 million and add teen safeguards
publishers 15articles 17first reported 24 Sep, 15:00 UTCdeveloping since 24 Sep · 6 editions
TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million and introduce new protections for teenage users, settling a state lawsuit shortly before a trial was scheduled to begin in Montgomery.
Alabama sued TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, in 2025, alleging that the platform’s personalized algorithm and other features harmed young users’ mental well-being and that the company misled consumers about child-safety measures. The settlement resolves those claims without a trial.
Under the agreement, TikTok will impose a two-hour daily limit for teen users in Alabama and restrict access from midnight to 6 a.m. Young users will receive prompts to take a “productive pause” after 15 minutes of continuous use and again after 60 and 90 minutes. Teen accounts will be private by default, and users will have the option of a non-personalized content feed.
The company also agreed to strengthen age verification, improve parental controls and content moderation, bar cosmetic-procedure or beauty filters for teenagers, and suspend notifications during school hours. The nighttime restriction could expand to 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. if other platforms adopt the same standard.
Alabama will receive $100 million for restitution and remediation. The state attorney general’s office said the total could rise to as much as $300 million if 40 other attorneys general enter qualifying agreements with TikTok within a specified period.
A TikTok spokesperson said the agreement builds on the company’s efforts to enhance safety tools for teens. Similar lawsuits against TikTok remain pending in other states.
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