Lawsuit over children's privacy on YouTube resolved by Google
Google has agreed to a $30 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit alleging it collected personal data from children under 13 on YouTube without parental consent, violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The lawsuit covers children who watched YouTube videos between July 2013 and April 2020, with an estimated 35 to 45 million potentially eligible for compensation.
The settlement requires court approval by U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen before payouts can begin. Google denies wrongdoing but settled to avoid further litigation.
The case follows a previous $170 million settlement in 2019 over similar allegations by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. This latest settlement affects all US children under 13 who watched kids' content on YouTube during the specified period. Parents or guardians must submit claims on behalf of children under 18.
The settlement hearing is scheduled for September 23, 2025, with claim forms becoming available about 30 days after preliminary court approval. If 1% to 2% of the class members submit claims, each claimant could receive $30 to $60, before deducting legal fees and costs.
The proposed class for the settlement includes U.S. children under 13 who watched YouTube between July 1, 2013 and April 1, 2020. Mediation between the parties led to the settlement in the case.
The settlement still requires approval by Judge van Keulen. Lawyers for the plaintiffs plan to seek up to $9 million from the settlement for legal fees. Google has agreed to pay $30 million to settle the lawsuit, but did not admit wrongdoing in the process.
This settlement is a continuation of legal scrutiny on Google's handling of children's data on YouTube, emphasizing ongoing regulatory enforcement of children's online privacy rights. Despite the settlement, Google has introduced AI tools to estimate users’ ages based on their viewing and search behaviors, which has raised new privacy concerns.
In 2019, Google agreed to pay $170 million in fines and change some practices to settle similar charges by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General Letitia James. The case is C.H. et al v Google LLC et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 19-07016.
Notably, the settlement amount does not affect the financials of Alphabet or Google. Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday, and lawyers for the plaintiffs did not respond to similar requests.
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