TikTok and its Chinese parent company ByteDance have reached a $100 million settlement with the US state of Alabama, averting a trial that had been scheduled to begin on Monday over allegations that the platform was deliberately engineered to addict young users. The deal, described by Alabama as a "first-in-the-nation" state settlement of its kind, could grow to as much as $300 million if at least 40 other state attorneys general sign similar agreements with TikTok within a specified timeframe.
Alabama's attorney general, Steve Marshall, originally sued TikTok in April 2025, accusing the app of being designed to hook children "just like a sophisticated gambling machine." The case was later narrowed to claims under Alabama's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, focusing on whether TikTok misrepresented the effectiveness of parental control features such as "Restricted Mode" and "Kids Mode," and whether it falsely assured app stores run by Apple, Google, and Microsoft that its platform was safe for teenagers. The lawsuit also alleged TikTok misled users about the Chinese government's access to US user data — a charge TikTok denies.
Under the terms of the settlement, TikTok will introduce a suite of new restrictions for teenage users, mirroring safety provisions that Meta — the parent company of Instagram and Facebook — agreed to in a separate multistate settlement last month worth more than $18 billion. These measures include a two-hour daily usage limit for teens, restricted access between midnight and 6am, suspended notifications during school hours, stronger age verification, a ban on beauty filters for minors, and the option for young users to select a non-personalised content feed. An additional provision would extend the nightly shutdown to 10pm–7am if other major platforms commit to the same standard. Although the restrictions are technically binding only in Alabama, analysts note that implementing platform-wide changes on a state-by-state basis is operationally complex, making nationwide rollout likely.
The settlement fits a broader pattern of US states taking legal action against social media companies over the mental health and safety of young users. More than a dozen states, including California and New York, still have active suits against TikTok. Meta, which has chosen to contest some cases rather than settle, faced a jury verdict in New Mexico in March ordering it to pay $375 million, and was found negligent by a Los Angeles jury in a separate case the same month. TikTok, by contrast, has consistently opted to settle cases approaching trial, including a suit from a Los Angeles woman and one brought by a Kentucky school district.
The Alabama deal marks another significant moment in an intensifying global reckoning over social media's impact on children. Beyond the United States, TikTok is also under scrutiny from the European Commission, which has criticised the platform for inadequately shielding minors' accounts from public view — a charge TikTok contests. Marshall called Friday's outcome "a great day for Alabama parents," while TikTok said the settlement builds on its "core objective to continually enhance robust safety tools to protect teens."