TikTok reaches $100 million lawsuit settlement with Alabama

TikTok and its parent company ByteDance will pay the US state of Alabama $100 million and make a series of changes to restrict its use to children in the state as part of a lawsuit settlement.

The agreement comes ahead of a jury trial set to begin on Monday. It ends a lawsuit targeting many social media platforms, including many, alleging that TikTok was intentionally designed to make children addicted to its features.

Under the agreement, the company will now have to install a number of new safety features, including a two-hour daily usage cap for children, as well as usage restrictions at night and during school hours.

These changes only apply to Alabama. This is the first time the platform has reached a settlement with a US state.

"We're very pleased," Katherine Robertson, chief legal counsel for the Alabama Attorney General's Office, told the BBC.

She added that the state had been mediating with TikTok before the trial, and the agreement reached now is the state’s final plan.

"This is a very restrictive injunctive relief measure that will require them to change many of the policies that we identify as the culprits - what we call a war on children's childhood," Robertson said.

The new duration limits and usage blocks are effective immediately.

However, TikTok has up to a year to implement other changes included in the settlement agreement, such as establishing age verification measures.

Many of the measures follow the framework of a settlement reached in August between social media rival Meta and 52 state attorneys general.

If the conditions of the new settlement agreement are not fulfilled, TikTok agrees to pay up to US$300 million. The $100 million in damages must be paid to the state within forty-five days.

Other safety features required as part of the agreement include a series of measures to allow parents to strictly monitor their children's use, as well as restrictions on some content and new ways to verify the age of underage users.

TikTok will also restrict children's accounts from being searchable by adults and notify parents of any "suspicious interactions" between teenage users and adult users.

The platform will also completely prohibit children from using all beauty filters.

"TikTok's top priority has always been to create a safe and positive space where people can be creative, explore their passions, and connect with groups," a spokesperson for TikTok USDS said. "This agreement builds on our commitment and core purpose of continuing to strengthen our powerful safety tools to protect young people."

Earlier this year, TikTok split its business ownership, with a new group of investors taking over its U.S. operations. The rest of the business is still operating in China.