TikTok agrees to pay at least $100 million to Alabama and add teen safety features

TikTok reached a settlement with the state of Alabama on the eve of a scheduled trial. Alabama sued TikTok in 2025, alleging the platform's design and algorithmic curation contributed to mental-health harms among young people and that the company knew about those effects.

Platform changes required in Alabama

TikTok agreed to several platform-level changes that will apply to teen users in Alabama:

• Option for teens to select a non-personalized content feed instead of algorithmic recommendations.
• Ban on cosmetic-procedure filters for teen accounts.
• A two-hour daily time limit for teen users.
• Prohibition on teen use between midnight and 6 a.m.
• Prompts for a "productive pause" after 15 minutes of continuous use, and additional prompts at 60 and 90 minutes.
• Teen accounts set to private by default.
• Stronger parental controls and more user-friendly safety tools.
• Enhanced age verification measures and stronger content-moderation protocols.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall described the settlement as providing "real protections" and said parents would have more control over what children see and how long they spend on the app. Katherine Robertson, chief counsel for the Alabama AG's office and a candidate for attorney general, framed the issue as platforms manipulating kids toward addiction.

A TikTok US domestic joint venture spokesperson said the company prioritizes safety and singled out its ongoing work to enhance safety tools and protect teens.

The case would have been the first state trial against TikTok over youth harms. Several other legal actions and settlements provide context:

• Meta reached a settlement this summer that included similar changes for teens.
• There was a landmark civil trial in Los Angeles earlier in the year in which a jury found that YouTube and Meta designed platforms that hooked young users.
• TikTok settled a separate Justice Department case in August for $400 million over alleged violations of federal children's privacy laws.

What changes will users and parents actually see

Teen accounts in Alabama should be private by default and present parents with stronger controls and more visible age verification steps. Teens will see new usage limits and prompts designed to interrupt long sessions. The option to use a non-personalized feed will reduce algorithmic tailoring for users who select it.

The settlement resolves Alabama's state-level claims without a jury decision. It ties financial restitution to state programs and imposes operational changes restricted to Alabama users, with possible broader implications if other states secure similar agreements.