The Alabama Attorney General’s Office and TikTok reached a settlement Friday in a state lawsuit alleging the social media platform addicted children and made misleading claims about its safety. The agreement requires TikTok to pay $116 million in restitution to Alabama and install features aimed at preventing teens from accessing the platform during late-night and early morning hours.
The settlement, which arrived about a month after TikTok resolved a similar federal government lawsuit, mandates the social media company to block teens from using the platform between midnight and 6 a.m. by default. It also establishes a $183 million fund for contingency payments, which could be released to Alabama depending on whether other states enter similar settlement agreements.
Montgomery Circuit Judge Monet Gaines issued the consent decree, which requires TikTok to offer educational resources to parents. These resources are designed to help parents protect their children while using the site and grant them more control over the content their children view. The agreement further compels the company to impose restrictions on minors' access to inappropriate content.
In a statement released Friday, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said it was a “great day” for Alabama parents, noting they can “rest easier” due to the new protections. Marshall stated that TikTok has agreed to give parents control over their children's app usage and content. He emphasized the Attorney General’s office’s goal to “stand up for Alabamians when they are being harmed.”
TikTok, in its own statement Friday, affirmed that its priority “has always been fostering a safe and positive space.” The company added that the settlement builds on its commitment to continually enhance safety tools to protect teens. TikTok did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement.
Of the $116 million TikTok will pay to Alabama, the source material specifies $14.2 million will cover attorneys’ fees, with an additional $2 million allocated for litigation costs. The remaining $100 million is designated for the Alabama Attorney General’s Office for an unspecified purpose. The potential $183 million in contingency payments could be disbursed in increments, such as $55 million should attorney generals’ offices from 10 states formalize qualifying agreements, with another $55 million if an additional 10 states do the same.
The settlement outlines several specific protections for teens and enhanced parental controls. It requires TikTok to provide parents with resources to tailor preferences and privacy settings, along with information on their children’s accounts. Parents will also be informed on how to view their children’s activity and manage their visibility on the site.
Beyond the default nighttime ban, the agreement stipulates that for teens granted permission to use the platform during these hours, TikTok will limit messages and disable certain notification features. It also requires the creation of protections to prevent interactions with “age-inappropriate accounts” and to offer age-appropriate content recommendations. Parents can impose limits on their children’s viewing time, with a default daily limit of two hours set from midnight. The platform will also allow parents to review a summary of their children’s activity and schedule times when access will be blocked.
The Alabama Attorney General’s Office initiated the lawsuit against TikTok in April 2025, accusing the platform of “fueling a mental health crisis among Alabama’s youth.” The office stated that “TikTok’s so-called ‘safety features’ are a joke,” describing them as a marketing ploy designed to mislead parents about a product TikTok allegedly knew was dangerous.
The lawsuit further accused TikTok of deploying an algorithm specifically to keep children on the site, thereby boosting advertising revenue, and of contributing to mental health harm, including self-harm and depression. According to the lawsuit, TikTok’s algorithm regularly exposes children to “overtly mature and inappropriate content concerning alcohol, tobacco, drugs, sexual content, nudity, suicide, and eating disorders,” content deemed harmful to developing minds and the state’s future.
TikTok responded to the lawsuit by filing a motion to dismiss in June 2025. The company argued that the state’s claims were barred by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, asserting immunity as an interactive computer service provider. TikTok contended that it should not be treated as a publisher of information provided by other content providers. Additionally, TikTok cited the federal Child Online Privacy Protection Act to counter the Attorney General’s claim about retaining user data and argued for dismissal because the company was not based in Alabama.
