TikTok settles lawsuit with Alabama for at least US$100m, to apply safety steps

Alabama said on Friday it had reached a settlement with TikTok and its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, that requires the social media platform to impose new usage limits and enhanced age-verification measures for users in the US state, resolving claims that the platform endangered children and misled consumers about its safety.The agreement, which came days before a scheduled trial, calls for TikTok to implement changes for teenagers in Alabama including a two-hour daily time limit, pauses after 15 ‌minutes of use and stricter age checks.TikTok will pay Alabama at least US$100 million under the settlement, but the state’s payout could grow to US$300 million if 40 other attorneys general sign on to similar agreements with the company within a specified time frame, according to the settlement.“This builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens,” a spokesperson for TikTok’s US operations said in a statement.The deal marks TikTok’s first settlement with a state in the sweeping litigation over social media’s impact on teen well-being. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall sued the company last year, and at least 27 other states and Washington, D.C., have brought similar lawsuits.“This is a great day for Alabama parents,” Marshall ⁠said in announcing the agreement.The trial, which was scheduled to kick off on Monday in Montgomery state court and expected to last two to three weeks, had been expected to provide a rare ‌look inside TikTok, which has settled prior cases selected for trial and sought to keep details of its operations from public view.