TikTok agrees to pay at least $100 million in landmark teen addiction settlement

TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million and overhaul how teenagers use its platform, avoiding what would have been the first US state trial over claims it designed its app to be addictive to young users.

The settlement brings an end to Alabama’s allegations that TikTok knowingly exposed young users to mental harm and intentionally misled the public about the safety of its platform.

The case had been due to go to trial on Monday, which would have made Alabama the first state to take its claims against TikTok to trial.

Under the agreement, teenagers will get a default two-hour daily limit on TikTok, with parental controls allowing parents to further restrict the amount of time their children spend on the platform.

TikTok will also introduce “productive pauses” after 15 minutes of continuous use, followed by further prompts at the 60- and 90-minute marks. Teenagers will be restricted from accessing the app between midnight and 6am, while messaging and push notifications will also be limited overnight and during school hours.

Several non-screen time measures have also been agreed. This includes an agreement by TikTok to introduce stronger age-verification measures, ban cosmetic filters for teenagers and give teen users a non-personalised feed by default.

The company will also strengthen content moderation, including limiting how adults can discover teen accounts and notifying parents about suspicious interactions between teenagers and adults.

Many of the measures mirror restrictions agreed by Meta last month as part of its $17 billion settlement with US states over similar allegations involving Instagram and Facebook. Meta subsequently called on TikTok and YouTube to adopt the same framework.

TikTok had initially resisted that pressure, with Axios reporting earlier this month that the company rejected Meta ads calling on rival platforms to join the settlement.

Under the Alabama deal, the state will receive at least $100 million within 45 days, with the payment potentially rising to as much as $300 million if certain conditions are met.

“This is a great day for Alabama parents,” Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement. “TikTok has agreed to give parents real control over what their kids see and how much time they spend on the app.”