TikTok settles Alabama lawsuit with up to 5.3 trillion rupiah fine

TikTok has agreed to pay a fine of up to 5,300,000,000,000 IDR to the government of Alabama, ending a legal dispute over the platform's impact on young users. The settlement, reported by Liputan6 Tekno, establishes new strict regulations for children and teenagers in the state. The payment amount is contingent on meeting specific technical requirements, with a base fine of 100 million USD, equivalent to 1,790,000,000,000 IDR, and a potential maximum of 300 million USD. This agreement resolves the lawsuit filed by the state, which alleged that the platform's features encouraged excessive screen time, harmed the mental health of young users, and misled the public regarding service security.

The new rules mandate that TikTok limit daily usage for children and teenagers in Alabama to a maximum of two hours. Parents are granted full access to set shorter time limits through parental control features. Additionally, the platform must implement productive pauses, which are break reminders that appear after 15 minutes of continuous use, and then again at the 60th and 90th minutes. Access to the application is also restricted from midnight until 06:00 local time, during which direct messaging and push notifications are automatically disabled.

To protect privacy, TikTok is required to strengthen its age verification systems. Teenager accounts will be made less discoverable by adult users, and parents will receive automatic notifications if suspicious interactions from adult accounts are detected. The platform is also prohibited from allowing cosmetic filters for teenage users. Furthermore, TikTok must provide a default feed that is not personalized by algorithms and increase parental oversight controls.

This settlement is currently applicable only to children and teenagers in Alabama. It marks the first state-level legal resolution between TikTok and the US government concerning allegations of the app's negative impact on child safety. A TikTok spokesperson stated that the company is committed to improving safety features to protect young users, describing the agreement as part of an effort to create a safe and positive digital space. This case follows a separate settlement announced by the US Department of Justice in August 2026, valued at 400 million USD, regarding allegations of violations of child privacy rules.