Google will pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it violated the privacy of children using YouTube by collecting their personal information without parental consent and using it for targeted advertising.
The preliminary settlement of the proposed class action was filed on Monday night in a federal court in San Jose, California, and now awaits approval by U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen.
Google denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.
The Alphabet unit had previously agreed in 2019 to pay $170 million in fines and revise certain practices to resolve similar charges brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Critics at the time described that agreement as too lenient.
The parents or guardians of 34 children accused Google of violating dozens of state laws by allowing content providers to lure children with cartoons, nursery rhymes and other videos, in order to collect their personal data even after the 2019 settlement.
In January, Judge Van Keulen dismissed claims against content providers including Hasbro (HAS.O), Mattel (MAT.O), Cartoon Network (WBD.O), and DreamWorks Animation (CMCSA.O), citing insufficient evidence linking them to Google’s alleged data collection. Mediation began the following month, eventually leading to the settlement.
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The proposed class covers U.S. children under 13 who watched YouTube between 1 July 2013 and 1 April 2020. Lawyers for the plaintiffs estimate there could be between 35 million and 45 million class members. They said that if 1% to 2% submit claims similar to rates seen in earlier cases claimants could each receive $30 to $60 before legal fees and costs are deducted.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers plan to seek up to $9 million from the settlement for legal fees.
Alphabet reported net income of $62.7 billion on revenue of $186.7 billion in the first half of 2025.
