TikTok settles lawsuit with Alabama for at least $100 million, will
implement safety features
[September 26, 2026] By
KAITLYN HUAMANI
TikTok will pay the state of Alabama at least $100 million and must
implement a slew of safety features for teens in the state as part of a
settlement agreement reached just before the case was set to go to
trial.
Alabama sued the social media company in 2025 claiming that the platform
had negative effects on the mental well-being of youths.
The lawsuit argued that TikTok's “addictive properties” — namely its
algorithm that curates highly specific content catered to users'
interests — were harmful to children and that the company knew of those
harms.
Through the settlement, TikTok will make several platform-level changes
for teen users in Alabama, including the option for teens to select a
non-personalized content feed.
The platform will also bar cosmetic procedure filters for teens,
implement a two-hour daily time limit and ban nighttime use from
midnight to 6 a.m. Young users in Alabama will also be prompted to take
a “productive pause” after 15 minutes of continuous use, and again at 60
and 90 minutes.
In addition to the platform changes, TikTok will pay Alabama $100
million in restitution and remediation, which will likely go toward
funding youth mental health services and other programs. If enough other
states reach qualifying settlements with TikTok within a specific time
frame, Alabama could receive up to an additional $183.8 million.
The platform-level changes outlined in the settlement agreement are
roughly similar to changes Meta agreed to make when it reached a
settlement this summer to resolve similar claims that were filed by
nearly every state, including Alabama. Meta had called on TikTok and its
other chief competitor, YouTube, to join it in adopting similar
standards, but TikTok had not publicly responded.
Katherine Robertson, chief counsel in the Alabama Attorney General’s
office and the Republican nominee to be the state’s next attorney
general, acknowledged the similarities with the Meta agreement and told
The Associated Press on Friday: “There's been a war on childhood coming
from a million different directions.”
[to top of second column] |
A TikTok sign is displayed on top of their building in Culver City,
Calif., on Dec. 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
 “We recognize that parents and youth
are fighting a battle against a bunch of different platforms,”
Robertson said. “They’re manipulating kids to get addicted to their
product, essentially.”
The settlement also outlines more robust and user-friendly parental
controls, stronger age verification measures TikTok must take, and
stronger content moderation protocols. Teen accounts will also be
set to private by default.
A spokesperson for the TikTok USDS Joint Venture said Friday in a
statement that TikTok’s priority has “always been fostering a safe
and positive space where people can be creative, discover what they
love, and connect with their community. This builds on our
commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust
safety tools to protect teens.”
Alabama would have been the first state to argue its claims against
TikTok in front of a jury. The trial was scheduled to begin Monday.
TikTok has settled several lawsuits with similar claims filed by
individuals before they went to trial, most notably in the landmark
social media addiction trial in Los Angeles earlier this year. The
jury in that case found that YouTube and Meta designed their
platforms to hook young users without concern for their well-being.
TikTok also reached a $400 million settlement with the U.S.
Department of Justice in August, ending a 2024 lawsuit alleging the
company violated federal children’s privacy laws.
———
Associated Press writer Kim Chandler contributed to this report from
Montgomery, Ala.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
