TikTok to pay Alabama $100M in youth addiction settlement
TikTok will pay Alabama at least $100 million and add a two-hour daily limit for Younger users to settle a social media addiction lawsuit.
TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama a minimum of $100 million to settle allegations that the app was designed to keep teens and kids addicted, according to engadget.com. The lawsuit had been scheduled to go to trial the following week.
It is TikTok's first settlement with a state over a social media addiction lawsuit. Alabama sued TikTok and ByteDance in 2024, and more than a dozen other states filed similar suits that year.
As part of the deal, TikTok will implement a two-hour daily time limit for Younger users. It will also add parental controls that let guardians shorten that limit, restrict unlimited scrolling and overnight access, ban beauty filters, and offer a non-personalized content feed for Younger users.
TikTok could owe up to $300 million if it fails to implement the changes.
The settlement follows other costly resolutions. Meta settled social media addiction complaints from 47 states for $18 billion, and TikTok agreed in August to pay $400 million to the Department of Justice over children's privacy laws. TikTok established a US entity in January, giving non-Chinese investors control of the app.
Quick answers
How much will TikTok pay Alabama?
TikTok agreed to pay Alabama a minimum of $100 million, and could pay up to $300 million if it fails to implement the required changes.
What changes will TikTok make for Younger users?
TikTok will add a two-hour daily time limit, parental controls to shorten it, restrictions on unlimited scrolling and overnight access, a ban on beauty filters, and a non-personalized content feed.
Is this TikTok's first state addiction settlement?
Yes. It is TikTok's first settlement with a state over a social media addiction lawsuit.