Alabama AG Announces Historic TikTok Settlement Worth At Least $100M

MONTGOMERY, AL — Alabama will receive at least $100 million from TikTok as part of a settlement resolving the state's claims that the social media company harmed young users through addictive platform features.

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Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said under the agreement that TikTok Inc. must pay Alabama at least $100 million within 45 days.

He also said the state's total recovery could increase to as much as $300 million if certain conditions outlined in the settlement are met.

The attorney general went on to credit Tuscaloosa attorney Josh Hayes of Prince Glover Hayes, along with attorneys Rhon Jones of Beasley Allen, Crow, Methvin, Portis & Miles and members of the Alabama Attorney General's Office, for their work on the TikTok case.

"My firm is extremely honored to have been selected to work on this important litigation on behalf of Alabama’s children," Hayes told Patch on Monday. "The Attorney General‘s Office has made clear that it intends to do something about the war on childhood being waged by Big Tech. This settlement is an important step toward ensuring that all social media companies tell the truth with respect to their platforms. More work is to be done, but this is a significant step in the right direction. "

The agreement also requires TikTok to implement new safeguards for children and teenagers using the platform.

Marshall's office said the settlement resolves claims that TikTok designed its platform with addictive features, knowingly exposed young users to mental health risks and misled the public about the platform's safety.

"This is a great day for Alabama parents," Marshall said. "Tonight, they can rest easier knowing real protections are in place to shield their children from the dangers of social media addiction."

Among the changes required under the settlement is a two-hour daily time limit for young users, along with parental controls allowing parents to impose additional restrictions.

Marshall said TikTok must also introduce what the settlement calls "productive pauses," which will interrupt teen users after 15 minutes of continuous use and again after 60 and 90 minutes.

The agreement calls for restrictions on children's access to TikTok between midnight and 6 a.m., along with limits on messaging and push notifications overnight and during school hours.

Marshall said other provisions include stronger age-verification measures, additional content moderation requirements and restrictions on the ability of adults to discover teen accounts.

Parents must also be notified of suspicious interactions between teenagers and adults, according to Marshall's office.

The settlement prohibits cosmetic filters for teen users and requires their feeds to be non-personalized by default. TikTok must also provide stronger and more accessible parental controls.

Marshall said the changes will give parents greater control over what their children see and how much time they spend using the app.

"We've said from day one that our number one goal was to stand up for Alabamians when they are being harmed, and today, we did exactly that," Marshall said.

The attorney general's office described the agreement as the first settlement of its kind in the country. Alabama's case against TikTok had been scheduled to go to trial Monday, with the state set to become the first in the nation to take such claims against the company to trial.

The TikTok agreement follows a separate multistate settlement involving Meta announced by Marshall's office last month. Alabama is expected to receive $117 million from that agreement over similar claims involving social media and young users.

Marshall's office has also reached an agreement with Roblox requiring additional protections for children using the online gaming platform and providing $12 million for school resource officers.

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