TikTok reaches first state settlement over teen safety claims, agrees to user limits
Alabama’s lawsuit claimed TikTok asks users to self-report their ages, but it also allows users to evade its questions about their age by viewing videos without creating an account, which still allows the company to collect data on their viewing habits. The lack of an effective age restriction makes things like Kids Mode, which curates content for young users, entirely useless, according to the lawsuit.
The state also claimed the platform traps kids in so-called “filter bubbles”, feeding them increasingly intense content on subjects that capture their attention, including violent or harmful material.
Last month, Meta reached a sweeping US$17.1 billion settlement with 47 states, Washington DC, and US territories. Meta, which did not admit wrongdoing, agreed to make changes to teens’ access to Instagram and Facebook as part of the deal and conditioned US$5 billion of the payout on TikTok, Snap and YouTube’s adoption of those terms. TikTok has not said anything publicly about the deal.
Like the Meta settlement, Alabama’s deal with TikTok would require the company to adopt additional restrictions if its rivals Snap, Google and Meta make similar changes.
Those measures could further limit teens’ time on social media apps and restrict overnight access, according to the filing.
Although the settlement applies only in Alabama, major platform changes could prove difficult to implement on a state-by-state basis.
