TikTok to limit teens to two hours a day in landmark Alabama settlement

TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama at least $100 million and introduce new restrictions for teenage users, settling a lawsuit over claims it failed to protect children from harmful content.

The agreement, described by Alabama as a first-of-its-kind state settlement, avoids a trial that was due to begin Monday.

Under the deal, TikTok will introduce a two-hour daily limit for teenagers, restrict access between midnight and 6:00 AM and suspend notifications during school hours.

It will also strengthen age verification, ban beauty filters for teenagers and offer a non-personalised content feed.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall called the settlement “a great day for Alabama parents”.

“Tonight, they can rest easier knowing real protections are in place to shield their children from the dangers of social media addiction,” he said.

TikTok will initially pay Alabama $100 million, but the total could rise to $300 million if 40 other attorneys general reach similar agreements within a specified period.

A TikTok spokesperson told AFP the agreement “builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens”.

Alabama sued TikTok and parent company ByteDance in 2025, alleging the platform misled users about its safety features and was designed to encourage addictive use among young people.