TikTok and its parent company ByteDance reached a settlement agreement with the state of Alabama just days before the case was set to go on trial. As a part of the out-of-court deal, it will pay Alabama at least $100 million. The social media company has also agreed to implement a slew of safety features for teens in the state as part of the agreement. If the lawsuit went in front of the jury, Alabama would have been the first state to argue its claims against TikTok, and the trial was scheduled to begin Monday (September 28, 2026). The state sued the social media company in 2025, claiming that the platform had negative effects on the mental well-being of youths.
The lawsuit argued that TikTok's “addictive properties," namely its algorithm that curates highly specific content catered to users' interests, were harmful to children and that the company knew of those harms, according to news agency AP.
