TikTok's Alabama settlement caps underage users at two hours a day
TikTok will pay Alabama at least $100 million and limit underage users to two hours a day in its first state settlement over teen social media addiction. It could owe up to $300 million if the features don't ship, and the list resembles what Meta agreed to in settling with 47 states.
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What happened
- Alabama's suit against TikTok and ByteDance, filed last year, settled with a trial scheduled for next week.
- The New York Times reported the measures are similar to those Meta agreed to adopt in its $18 billion settlement with 47 states.
- In August, TikTok agreed to pay the Justice Department $400 million to settle claims that it broke children's privacy laws.
Why it matters
- What it costs cost Non-delivery is priced at up to three times the settlement floor, so the larger payment TikTok could owe Alabama depends on whether it ships the required features.
- What it limits constraint Daily use by underage accounts now has an agreed ceiling of 120 minutes, so a feed change that lengthens teen sessions gains nothing past that line.
- What it sets up precedent The more than a dozen states that sued TikTok in 2024 can open their own negotiations from a feature list Alabama already has in writing.
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Under its Alabama deal, TikTok has to build a control that lets a parent take a teenager's two-hour daily allowance and cut it shorter [3]. The two-hour limit itself, on the reported terms, applies to underage users whether or not a parent does anything [3].
Engadget describes the package as safety measures meant to address the states' concerns [6]. What TikTok has to ship is six specific changes [11], and a product team would scope and test them in separate groups. Three limit what the app does for underage users: the time limit and the restrictions on unlimited scrolling and overnight access [3][13]. One is a removal, since beauty filters are banned [13]. Two only matter if someone chooses them: the parental control, and a non-personalized feed that TikTok will offer younger users [3][13].
The payments are tied to the build. TikTok pays at least $100 million to settle [1]. If it fails to implement the changes, it could owe as much as $300 million [14], three times the floor [16]. On that wording, the obligation is to ship. A parental control that ships and that no parent ever opens would count as done. The reporting does not include any measure of how much time teens spend in the app before or after the changes.
The terms bind only TikTok, through its deal with Alabama [1][14]. According to The New York Times, Meta and TikTok have now each agreed to similar lists [7]. This is TikTok's first state deal over addiction claims, according to Reuters [4], and suits filed by more than a dozen other states in 2024 are still open against it [10]. Counting the $400 million Justice Department children's privacy settlement in August [9], TikTok has agreed to at least $500 million in child-related settlements [12].
A product lead at another app with under-18 users can run TikTok's six items through a two-column check. The first column asks whether the app has the feature. The second asks whether it reaches minors without anyone switching it on. Two yeses means the item is done. A yes and a no means it exists as an opt-in setting. The Alabama terms set the time limit for underage users and leave parents only the choice to go lower [3]. Two noes is the work a settlement would assign, with a penalty attached for not shipping it [14].
What to watch
- Whether TikTok ships the two-hour limit and the scrolling and overnight restrictions to all US minors or only to Alabama accounts.
- Whether any of the more than a dozen states that sued TikTok in 2024 settle on the same feature list or hold out for more.
- Whether Alabama moves to collect any part of the up-to-$300 million for changes TikTok fails to implement.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence72
- Adoption
- Not scored
- Hype gap+20
- Incentives60
- Confidence66
Perspective Coverage
5 publishers- Builder
- Builder 31%
- Operator
- Operator 42%
- Investor
- Investor 27%
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
TikTok has agreed to pay Alabama a minimum of $100 million to settle the state's allegations that the app was deliberately designed to keep teens and kids addicted to social media.
- [2]
The Alabama lawsuit was supposed to go to trial next week.
- [3]
TikTok will implement a two-hour daily time limit for underage users and roll out additional parental controls that would allow guardians to shorten that time limit even further.
- [4]
According to Reuters, this is TikTok's first deal with a state for a social media addiction lawsuit.
- [5]
Alabama sued TikTok and its developer, Chinese company ByteDance, last year.
- [6]
In addition to the payment, TikTok has agreed to implement safety measures meant to address the concerns raised by the states in their lawsuits.
- [7]
According to The New York Times, TikTok's measures are similar to the ones Meta agreed to adopt to settle the social media addiction complaints filed against it by 47 states.
- [8]
A two-hour daily time limit equals 120 minutes a day.
- [9]
In August, TikTok agreed to pay $400 million to the Department of Justice to settle its lawsuit claiming that the app broke children's privacy laws.
- [10]
More than a dozen other states sued TikTok in 2024 over allegations that it was intentionally designed to get teens addicted; these are among the social media addiction lawsuits TikTok is facing.
- [11]
The Alabama terms list six design changes: the two-hour limit, parental controls to shorten it, a scrolling restriction, an overnight access restriction, a beauty filter ban, and a non-personalized feed.
- [12]
TikTok's agreed payments in the Justice Department children's privacy settlement and the Alabama settlement total at least $500 million.
- [13]
TikTok will put a restriction on unlimited scrolling and on overnight access, ban beauty filters, and offer a non-personalized content feed for younger users.
- [14]
If TikTok fails to implement those changes, it may have to pay as much as $300 million.
- [15]
Meta agreed to settle the 47 states' social media addiction lawsuits for $18 billion.
- [16]
The up-to-$300 million payment for failing to implement the changes is three times the $100 million minimum settlement payment.
Sources
5 independent publishers whose own reporting we read for this story.
- dexerto.comTikTok settles Alabama lawsuit for $100M days before trial with new teen restrictions
2 articles · September 26, 2026
- digitaltrends.comTikTok agrees to daily usage limits for teens after settling for $100 million - Digital Trends
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- engadget.comTikTok Will Pay Alabama $100 Million To Settle Social Media Addiction Lawsuit
2 articles · September 26, 2026
- techcrunch.comTikTok agrees to pay at least $100M in Alabama settlement
2 articles · September 26, 2026
- thenextweb.comTikTok to pay Alabama at least $100m to settle teen safety lawsuit
1 article · September 26, 2026