TikTok and its parent company ByteDance will pay the US state of Alabama $100m (\u00a375.45m) and make a series of changes to restrict children’s usage in the state as part of a lawsuit settlement. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
The changes will only apply in Alabama. It marks the platform’s first settlement with a US state. <\/p>\n
“We’re very pleased,” said Katherine Robertson, chief counsel in the Alabama Attorney General’s office in an interview with the BBC.<\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n
The new time limits and usage blocks are due to take effect immediately. <\/p>\n
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. <\/p>\n