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TikTok and parent company ByteDance reached a $100 million settlement with Alabama, resolving the state’s lawsuit alleging that the platform was engineered to promote compulsive use among minors while misrepresenting its safety controls. Alabama alleged that TikTok’s recommendation algorithm led young users toward increasingly harmful material, including content involving self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, drugs, violence, and sexual exploitation; the state also alleged weak age controls enabled collection of underage users’ data.
The agreement requires TikTok to make child-safety changes within 45 days, including disabling personalized “For You” feeds for children, implementing daily-use limits and overnight curfews, and strengthening age-verification controls. TikTok could face up to $300 million in additional penalties for noncompliance. The settlement ends what had been expected to be Alabama’s first trial against the company over youth harm, while broader state and federal scrutiny of TikTok’s child safety and privacy practices continues.
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Meta settled claims with 47 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories for $17.1 billion without admitting wrongdoing, and agreed to alter teen access to Instagram and Facebook.
Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall filed a lawsuit alleging TikTok designed its platform to encourage compulsive use by minors and misled parents about safety protections.
TikTok settled Alabama's claims for $100 million over alleged harms to minors. The agreement requires child-safety measures including disabling personalized For You feeds for children, usage limits and curfews, stronger age verification, and safeguards for teen-adult interactions; noncompliance could trigger an additional $300 million penalty.
TikTok reportedly reached a separate $400 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that it violated children's privacy laws and inadequately protected young users.
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TikTok and its parent company **ByteDance** agreed to a **$400 million** settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that the platform violated children's privacy law, including requirements under the **Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)**. The case stemmed from a 2024 lawsuit, and the DOJ described the resolution as one of the largest settlements reached in a COPPA-related matter. Under the agreement, TikTok will pay **$300 million immediately** and an additional **$100 million** after a prior consent decree involving TikTok predecessor **Musical.ly** is vacated. Justice Department officials said the settlement also reflects changes TikTok has made to ownership, management, compliance, privacy practices, age controls, and parental oversight aimed at improving protections for children and families.
Aug 26, 2026
Meta agreed to settle claims brought by 29 U.S. states alleging that Facebook and Instagram were deliberately designed to addict children and teenagers, misrepresented their safety, and collected children’s data without required parental consent. The company denied the allegations while agreeing to pay at least **$12.1 billion** over 10 years, with total payments potentially reaching approximately **$17.1 billion** if other major social-media companies adopt comparable child-safety measures. The settlement requires Meta to introduce stronger protections for young users, including age verification, expanded parental controls, daily usage limits, nighttime access restrictions, and muted notifications during school hours. The states alleged Meta prioritized user growth and advertising revenue despite evidence of harms to minors; District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb described the agreement as a significant public-health victory.
Aug 31, 2026
The **European Commission** issued preliminary findings that **TikTok’s product design**—including *infinite scroll*, *autoplay*, *push notifications*, and *personalized recommendations*—may breach the EU **Digital Services Act (DSA)** by failing to adequately assess and mitigate risks to users’ physical and mental well-being, particularly for **minors and vulnerable users**. If confirmed, the Commission said the violations could result in penalties of up to **6% of TikTok’s global annual turnover**, and it signaled expected design changes such as **screen-time breaks**, adjustments to recommendation systems, and disabling or reducing features deemed to drive compulsive use. Separately, **Spain** announced plans to **ban social media access for children under 16** and require **age verification** by platforms, aligning with a broader European trend toward statutory restrictions on minors’ social media use. The announcement follows similar initiatives across Europe, including Australia’s under-16 restriction (cited as precedent), the Netherlands’ push to bar under-15s, French legislation targeting under-14s, and the UK studying a ban for children 15 and under—indicating accelerating regulatory pressure on platforms to implement enforceable child-safety and access controls.
Jun 29, 2026