TikTok limits teen screen time in $100M+ Alabama agreement
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TikTok agreed to limit daily screen time for teenagers in Alabama to two hours, settling a lawsuit brought by the state’s Attorney General, Steve Marshall.
The agreement prevents TikTok from facing the first state-level trial in the United States over its potential harm to young people’s mental health. TikTok will pay Alabama $116.2 million, with the potential for up to $300 million in payments if other states reach similar agreements.
Like Meta, the company behind Facebook and Instagram, TikTok will automatically limit daily use to two hours for users aged 13 to 17. The platform will also restrict access from midnight to 6 AM and suspend notifications during school hours. TikTok will strengthen age verification, ban aesthetic filters for teens, and offer a non-personalized content feed.
The agreement includes a provision that stricter limitations, like extending nighttime restrictions to 10 PM to 7 AM, will only take effect if Meta, Snap, and YouTube make similar commitments in Alabama. This mirrors a recent deal Meta reached with the state, where comparable commitments from other platforms unlock additional restrictions. Marshall stated the agreement gives Alabama parents “real control” over their children’s app usage.
TikTok has previously settled similar cases before trial, including a case in California and another in Kentucky. The company also agreed to pay up to $400 million to resolve federal lawsuits regarding illegal data collection from children. The Alabama lawsuit accused TikTok of designing its app to be addictive, like a “sophisticated slot machine.”
