TikTok Agrees to $100 Million Settlement in Alabama Addiction Lawsuit

TikTok has agreed to pay at least $100 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the US state of Alabama, which accused the platform of fostering harmful addiction among teenagers and children.

The lawsuit was filed last year against ByteDance, TikTok’s Chinese parent company.

The settlement was reached just before the trial was scheduled to begin in court next week. It marks TikTok’s first settlement with a US state in a lawsuit involving social media addiction.

New Safety Features and Requirements

In addition to paying the settlement, TikTok will introduce several stricter safety measures to protect younger users. Under the new rules, daily screen time for minors will be capped at two hours, with parents able to reduce the limit further if they wish.

The company has also agreed to restrict late-night app use, eliminate endless scrolling and completely prohibit beauty filters and other artificial appearance-enhancement features for younger users.

Algorithm-driven personalised content feeds will also be disabled for children. Under the agreement, TikTok could face an additional $300 million penalty if it fails to implement these changes.

Broader Context and Growing Pressure

TikTok is facing similar lawsuits in around a dozen other US states. Recently, technology giant Meta reached a massive $18 billion settlement with 47 US states over broadly similar allegations.

Earlier, in August, TikTok separately settled a lawsuit with the US Department of Justice for $400 million over alleged violations of children’s data protection rules.

To navigate social and political pressure in international markets, TikTok has already established a separate board of directors under non-Chinese investors to oversee its US operations.

//DBTech/BMT/OR//