Google Agrees to Pay $30 Million Over Alleged Child Privacy Violations on YouTube

Google has agreed to pay a settlement of $30 million to resolve a class action lawsuit alleging privacy violations against children on YouTube. According to reports by Reuters, the lawsuit claims that Google unlawfully collected data from children under 13 years old while they were watching videos on the platform.

The COPPA legislation, a longstanding piece of U.S. child privacy protection law, prohibits the collection of personal information from children under the age of 13 without parental consent. However, data collection from minors has become increasingly common in today’s digital landscape.

Despite admitting to the settlement, Google denies these allegations. It remains unclear how many people in the United States may be eligible for compensation from this class action suit. The case covers any individual who watched YouTube while under the age of 13 between July 1, 2013 and April 1, 2020, potentially affecting up to 45 million users.