Google To Pay $30 Million To Settle Child Privacy Lawsuit On YouTube (image:unsplash/Zulfugar Karimov)
As per Reuters report, Google has agreed to a $30 million settlement to resolve a class-action lawsuit. The suit alleged that the company illegally collected data from children on YouTube without parental consent and used it to serve them personalised ads.
An initial settlement deal for the lawsuit was proposed and filed in court on Monday. The agreement needs to be approved by US Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen. While agreeing to the settlement, Google denied these allegations.
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When asked about the settlement, Google did not respond to media inquiries, and no official statements were available from the lawyers representing the people who filed the lawsuit.
The lawsuit, filed by 34 parents, accuses Google of violating numerous state laws. The parents said Google used cartoons and nursery rhymes on YouTube to lure children into watching content and secretly collect their personal information.
US judge earlier dismissed the claims against the content creators like Hasbro and Mattel because there was not enough evidence to prove they were connected to Google’s alleged data collection. Shortly after the judge’s decision, the two parties began talks to resolve the dispute through mediation, which resulted in this agreement, Reuters report added.
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The settlement applies to the 35 million to 45 million American children who were under 13 and used YouTube between 2013 and 2020.
The lawyers believe that if only 1% to 2% of people file a claim, each person could get $30 to $60. However, the lawyers are planning to take up to $9 million from the settlement fund for their legal fees first, and the remaining money will then be distributed.
