TikTok settles for over $100 million in mental health lawsuit, Alabama AG says

The Alabama Attorney General’s Office announced Friday it reached a minimum $100 million settlement deal with TikTok and its parent company, ByteDance, days before a state court was set to hear arguments surrounding the app’s potential mental health effects on minors.

TikTok has 45 days to respond to the settlement , which could balloon to $300 million if certain conditions are met. The move marks the first time the social media platform has settled as it engages in several similar legal battles related to the wellbeing of its minor users, according to Reuters .

In addition to the payment, the agreement also requires that TikTok implement a host of safety features designed to protect children using its platform — including daily time limits, stronger content moderation, more user-friendly parental controls and a blanket prohibition on cosmetic filters by teen users.

It also mandates that the app add “productive pauses” that interrupt teen users after 15, 60 and 90 minutes of continuous use “to limit endless scrolling.”

The app will also add nighttime restrictions as a result of the settlement, restricting children’s access to TikTok from 12:00 a.m. to 6:00 a.m. and placing blocks on notifications during this period. The settlement says the platform must add similar restrictions during school hours.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s office accused the company last year of making its platform purposefully addictive for young users and negatively impacted the wellbeing of teenagers in the state.

TikTok has defended itself in the past by saying it designed the platform with teen safety in mind, which a federal judge ruled against.

“This is a great day for Alabama parents. Tonight, they can rest easier knowing real protections are in place to shield their children from the dangers of social media addiction. TikTok has agreed to give parents real control over what their kids see and how much time they spend on the app,” Marshall wrote in a press release about the settlement deal.

When asked about the settlement, a TikTok U.S. Data Security Joint Venture spokesperson told The Hill, “TikTok’s priority has always been fostering a safe and positive space where people can be creative, discover what they love, and connect with their community.”

“This builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens,” the spokesperson continued.