TikTok and its parent company ByteDance will pay the US state of Alabama $100m (£754.5m) and make a series of changes to restrict children’s usage in the state as part of a lawsuit settlement.
The deal was reached just before a jury trial was set to begin on Monday. It ends a lawsuit alleging TikTok is intentionally designed to addict children to its features, mirroring a host of lawsuits against social media platforms.
The company is now required to install a number of new safety features, including a two-hour daily usage limit for children as well as overnight and school-hour restrictions.
The changes will only apply in Alabama. It marks the platform’s first settlement with a US state.
“We’re very pleased,” said Katherine Robertson, chief counsel in the Alabama Attorney General’s office in an interview with the BBC.
She added that the state had been engaged in mediation with TikTok in the run-up to trial and that the deal they have now reached was the state’s final offer.
“This is very restrictive injunctive relief that’s going to require them to change a lot of the policies that we had identified as the culprits in what we call the war on childhood,” Robertson said.
The new time limits and usage blocks are due to take effect immediately.
However, TikTok has up to a year to implement other changes included as part of the settlement, such as the establishment of age verification measures.
Many of the measures follow a framework established by an August settlement struck between social media rival Meta and 52 state Attorneys General.
TikTok has agreed to pay up to $300m to Alabama if conditions of the new settlement are not met. The $100m payment is due to the state within 45 days.
Other safety features demanded as part of the deal include a host of measures to allow parents to heavily moderate usage by their children, along with restrictions on some content, and new ways to verify the age of young users.
TikTok will also limit children’s accounts being discovered by adults, and notify parents to any “suspicious interactions” between teen users and adult users.
A blanket ban on all cosmetic filters for children will also be put in place.
“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,” a spokesperson for TikTok USDS said. “This builds on our commitment and core objective to continually enhance our robust safety tools to protect teens.”
Earlier this year, TikTok split its business ownership, with a new group of investors taking control of operations in the US. The remainder of the business is operated out of China.
ByteDance, the parent company of TikTok in China, was also part of Friday’s settlement as ByteDance remains a minority owner of the US joint venture.
By BBC News
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