August 19,2025
RED FM News Desk
Google has agreed to pay US$30 million to settle a lawsuit accusing it of violating children’s privacy on YouTube by collecting their personal data without parental consent and using it for targeted advertising.
The proposed class-action settlement was filed Monday night in federal court in San Jose, California, and still requires approval from U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen. Google denied any wrongdoing in agreeing to the deal.
This isn’t the first time Google has faced such allegations. In 2019, the company paid $170 million in fines and agreed to modify some practices after similar charges from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General Letitia James—a settlement critics argued was too lenient.
The latest case was brought by the parents or guardians of 34 children, who accused Google of violating numerous state laws by allowing content creators to lure children with cartoons, nursery rhymes, and similar videos in order to collect their personal data—even after the 2019 settlement.
Claims against content providers such as Hasbro, Mattel, Cartoon Network, and DreamWorks Animation were dismissed in January, with the judge citing insufficient evidence linking them to Google’s alleged practices. Mediation the following month led to the new settlement.
The proposed class covers all U.S. children under 13 who watched YouTube between July 1, 2013, and April 1, 2020. Lawyers estimate 35 to 45 million children could be eligible, though if only 1–2% file claims—consistent with past cases—payouts would likely be $30 to $60 per child before legal costs.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers said they intend to seek up to $9 million in legal fees from the settlement.
Meanwhile, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, reported $62.7 billion in net income on $186.7 billion in revenue in the first half of 2025.
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