Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to discuss the state’s lawsuit against TikTok, alleging the platform violated Florida’s Children’s Social Media Act and put minors in danger.
Alabama teens using TikTok will soon face two-hour daily limits, nightly curfews and the end of the app’s personalized “For You” page after the social media giant reached a $100 million settlement with the state.
TikTok reached the first settlement of its kind just days before the trial was set to begin. Rather than only imposing financial penalties, the deal requires the company to overhaul several of its core features aimed at minors.
“TikTok has agreed to give parents real control over what their children see and how much time they spend on the app,” Republican Attorney General Steve Marshall said in a statement. “We have said from day one that our number one goal is to stand up for Alabamians when they come under harm, and today, that’s exactly what we did.”
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TikTok said the settlement reflected its ongoing efforts to improve safety features for teens.
“TikTok’s priority has always been to foster a safe and positive space where people can be creative, discover what they love and connect with their community,” said a spokesperson for the TikTok USDS joint venture. “This builds on our commitment and core goal to continually improve our robust security tools to protect teens.”
Marshall filed a lawsuit against TikTok in April 2025, alleging that the company intentionally designed the app to allow children to scroll while misleading parents about its safety features and the risks it posed to minors.
The lawsuit alleged that TikTok’s recommendation algorithm exposed children to content involving self-harm, eating disorders, suicide, drugs and sexually explicit material, while overestimating the effectiveness of tools such as restricted mode and age verification features.
Within 45 days, TikTok must implement sweeping changes to how minors use the app. Among the most important is disabling the personalized “For You” page for children. The algorithm-based feed, which recommends videos based on a user’s viewing habits, is widely considered the centerpiece of TikTok’s engagement strategy.
The TikTok app logo is displayed on an iPhone Friday, Jan. 17, 2025, in Houston. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis/AP Newsroom)
The deal also imposes two-hour daily limits, nighttime curfews, mandatory “productive breaks” after 15 minutes of continuous use and then another break at 60 and 90 minutes, bans cosmetic filters for children, strengthens age verification measures and adds new safeguards limiting interactions between teen and adult accounts.
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The changes aim to curb addictive consumption among minors and strengthen the protection of young users. If TikTok fails to comply with the settlement, the company could face an additional penalty of $300 million.
The ByteDance Ltd. TikTok app website. is displayed on a smartphone in a photography event in Beijing, China, Wednesday, September 2, 2020. (Photographer: Yan Cong/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The settlement marks the latest setback for TikTok, which has been the subject of bipartisan scrutiny in Washington for years. Although the social media platform avoided a nationwide ban in the United States earlier this year after its Chinese parent company agreed to cede control of its U.S. operations, it continues to face lawsuits and lingering questions about child safety and dating privacy.
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In August, TikTok reached a $400 million settlement with the Justice Department over allegations that it violated children’s privacy laws and failed to adequately protect young users.
Fox News Digital has contacted TikTok for comment.
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