Alabama said it had reached a settlement with TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, that required the social media platform to impose new usage limits and enhanced age-verification measures for users in the state, resolving claims that the platform endangered children and misled consumers about its safety.

The agreement, ⁠which came days before a scheduled trial, calls for TikTok to implement changes for teenagers in Alabama including a two-hour daily time limit, pauses after 15 minutes of use and stricter age checks.

TikTok will pay Alabama at least US$100 million under the settlement, but the state's payout could grow to US$300 million if 40 other attorneys general sign on to similar agreements with the company within a specified timeframe.

"This builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens," a spokesperson for TikTok's US operations said.

The deal marks TikTok's first settlement with a state in the sweeping litigation over social media's impact on teen well-being. Alabama attorney general Steve Marshall sued the company last year, and at least 27 other states and Washington, DC, have brought similar lawsuits.

The trial, which had been scheduled to kick off on Monday in Montgomery state court ⁠and expected to last two to three ⁠weeks, had been expected to provide a rare look inside TikTok, which has settled prior cases selected for trial. (Reuters)
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Last updated: 2026-09-26 HKT 10:29



Edited by Robert Kemp