Google has agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the company of collecting personal data from children on YouTube without parental consent and using the information to deliver targeted ads. The proposed settlement, filed Monday in federal court in San Jose, California, must be approved by U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen. Google has denied any wrongdoing.
The suit was filed by 34 parents and guardians who alleged that YouTube unlawfully gathered personal information for advertising purposes by enticing children under 13 with cartoons, nursery rhymes, and similar videos. Plaintiffs argued that the practice violated state privacy and consumer-protection laws and that it continued even after Google paid $170 million in 2019 to resolve similar allegations brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James and the Federal Trade Commission.
The case has gone through several rounds of dismissal and appeal. A federal judge dismissed earlier versions of the case, ruling that the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, known as COPPA, took precedence over the claims. The law requires companies to obtain parental consent before collecting data from children under 13, and parents alleged that Google ignored this requirement, reducing the value of their children’s personal information and exposing them to targeted advertising.
In 2022, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the dismissal, holding that state law claims could proceed alongside federal law. When the case was reassigned to Judge van Keulen, she allowed specific claims to move forward, including intrusion upon seclusion and violations of consumer-protection statutes in several states. She found the plaintiffs had plausibly alleged that Google’s conduct was “highly offensive” because it knowingly violated COPPA.
In January, Judge van Keulen dismissed claims against outside content providers such as Cartoon Network, Mattel, DreamWorks, and Hasbro, citing a lack of evidence that they directly participated in data collection. Settlement discussions began soon after and led to the proposed $30 million settlement.
The proposed settlement would cover U.S. children under 13 who used YouTube between July 2013 and April 2020. Attorneys estimate the class could include 35 to 45 million children.
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