Alabama reached the first state-level settlement in the United States with TikTok on Friday (September 25), focusing on charges related to the safety of teenagers. TikTok will pay at least $100 million, and if other states follow suit with similar agreements, the total settlement amount could reach up to $300 million. The platform will also be required to restrict the usage time for teenagers and enhance age verification and parental controls.
This case was originally scheduled to be heard in the Circuit Court of Montgomery County, Alabama next week.
Alabama was poised to be the first state in the U.S. to bring such charges to trial. According to Reuters, at least 27 other states and the District of Columbia have filed similar lawsuits against TikTok.
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office stated that the state will receive at least $100 million from the settlement, which must be paid within 45 days. Under specific conditions, this amount could increase to a maximum of $300 million.
Court documents revealed that TikTok is required to pay a total of $116.2 million in settlement funds, with $100 million designated for consumer restitution and remedy, $14.2 million for legal fees, and $2 million for litigation costs.
The agreement also includes an additional payment of up to $183.8 million. Alabama stands to receive more funds in stages if other states continue to reach similar settlements with TikTok.
When the number of state attorneys general signing related agreements reaches 10, 20, 30, and 40 people, different payment thresholds will be triggered. If all conditions are met, the total settlement amount could reach up to $300 million.
The settlement requires that TikTok set a daily usage limit of 120 minutes for teenagers in Alabama. However, the court documents stipulate that watching long-form content, sending messages, searching, and settings are not included in the 120-minute restriction, and parents can further reduce usage time.
From midnight to 6 a.m., teenagers are default blocked from using most TikTok functions; from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next day, except for urgent notifications related to messages, account security, or platform integrity, TikTok cannot send push notifications to teenagers.
TikTok is also obligated to implement “productive pauses” mechanisms, which pause usage after accumulating 60 and 90 minutes daily, with a clear prompt displayed after another continuous 15 minutes of usage.
The agreement mandates that TikTok establish an age model to identify users under 13 years old and provide an appeals mechanism. Data related to age identification of users under 13 cannot be used for advertising, marketing, or algorithm optimization; the retained data must be deleted within 90 days when no longer needed.
Other measures include setting teenage accounts as private by default, reducing the chances of adults finding teenage accounts, prohibiting teenagers from using cosmetic procedure filters, and providing non-personalized content dynamic options.
Parents will be able to view their child’s usage time, set limits, and manage searches, keywords, and some interactive functions.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall remarked, “For parents in Alabama, today is a great day. Tonight, they can rest easier knowing that there are now real safeguards in place to protect their children from the dangers of social media addiction.”
Last month, Marshall also announced a multi-state settlement with Meta to address similar charges, through which Alabama will receive $117 million.
A spokesperson for TikTok’s U.S. business stated, “This continues our commitment to and core goal of continually strengthening our robust safety tools to protect teenagers.”
The settlement document indicates that TikTok and other defendants did not admit to any wrongdoing, misconduct, or legal liability, and the court did not make a ruling on any factual or legal disputes.
In 2025, Alabama filed a lawsuit against TikTok, alleging that its platform design is addictive, the algorithm pushes some young users towards increasingly intense violent, self-harming content, and misleads consumers on teenage safety issues.
TikTok, on the other hand, maintained that the safety of teenagers has always been a top priority in the platform’s design.