TikTok Agrees to $100 Million Settlement With Alabama Over Youth Safety Concerns
The social media giant will also implement new safety features for teen users in the state, averting a trial that was set to begin Monday.
TikTok has reached a settlement with Alabama, agreeing to pay at least $100 million and implement a range of new safety features for its teen users in the state. The agreement, announced just before a trial was scheduled to begin, resolves a lawsuit filed by Alabama in 2025.
The state's lawsuit alleged that TikTok's "addictive properties," driven by its algorithm that curates highly personalized content, were harmful to minors and that the company was aware of these harms. Alabama sought to hold the company accountable for the negative effects on the mental well-being of its youth.
Under the terms of the settlement, TikTok will introduce several platform-level changes for teen users in Alabama. These include the option for a non-personalized content feed, a ban on cosmetic procedure filters for minors, and a daily time limit of two hours. Nighttime use from midnight to 6 a.m. will also be prohibited. Furthermore, young users will receive prompts for a "productive pause" after 15 minutes of continuous use, with additional prompts at the 60- and 90-minute marks.
The $100 million payment from TikTok is designated for restitution and remediation within Alabama, likely to fund youth mental health services and other related programs. The state could receive an additional $183.8 million if other states reach similar qualifying settlements with TikTok within a specified period.
These platform changes largely mirror those agreed to by Meta when it settled similar claims brought by nearly every state, including Alabama, earlier this year. Katherine Robertson, chief counsel in the Alabama Attorney General’s office, noted the similarities, stating, "There's been a war on childhood coming from a million different directions." She added, "We recognize that parents and youth are fighting a battle against a bunch of different platforms. They’re manipulating kids to get addicted to their product, essentially."
The settlement also mandates more robust and user-friendly parental controls, enhanced age verification measures, and stronger content moderation protocols. Additionally, teen accounts in Alabama will be set to private by default.
A spokesperson for TikTok stated that the company's priority has "always been fostering a safe and positive space where people can be creative, discover what they love, and connect with their community. This builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens."
Alabama was poised to be the first state to argue its case against TikTok before a jury. TikTok has previously settled individual lawsuits with similar claims before they reached trial. Notably, a jury in a landmark social media addiction trial earlier this year found that YouTube and Meta had designed their platforms to foster addiction in young users without prioritizing their well-being. In August, TikTok also agreed to a $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve a lawsuit alleging violations of federal children’s privacy laws.