:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/youtubeclassaction-47d6d6f43eb2458cafadf0da1f83cc1c.jpg "Did You Watch YouTube Videos as a Kid? You Could Be Eligible for Part of a Million Settlement From Google, YouTube")
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Key Takeaways
- Google and a group of claimants have agreed to a $30 million settlement over a 6-year-old class action suit over YouTube advertising.
- Google and YouTube allegedly collected data to serve targeted ads to children aged 13 and under from 2013 to 2020, without parental consent.
- The settlement still needs to be approved by a judge, but if you were under 13 and watching YouTube content for kids during that time, you could be eligible for a piece of the settlement.
Did you grow up watching YouTube videos? If so, you could be in line to collect some of a yet-to-be-approved $30 million settlement from Alphabet (GOOGL)-owned Google and YouTube.
The tech giant and plaintiffs agreed to a settlement to end a class action suit alleging that the company collected data from YouTube videos watched by children to target advertising to kids under the age of 13 without parental consent. The sides laid out the details for the settlement in a filing earlier this month in the Northern District of California federal court, and a hearing for preliminary approval of the settlement is scheduled for Sept. 23.
Who Would Qualify For The Settlement?
Anyone who was under the age of 13 and watched YouTube content directed at children between July 2013 and April 2020 would be eligible for a piece of the settlement, court records show. Google has told the court that it can’t identify the size of the potential settlement class, as people don’t have to be signed into an account to watch videos, and users have to be 13 and up to make an account.
Attorneys representing the children estimate that the potential class of people eligible is between 35 million and 45 million, calculated from an estimate of nearly 79 million children within that age range during the time period, and data showing that 40% to 50% of children watched YouTube in that time.
The attorneys estimated that, based on the rate of typical claims in class action lawsuits, people who submit a claim once the settlement is approved could receive $30 to $60, on average.
What’s The Lawsuit About?
The lawsuit started in 2019, when the Federal Trade Commission and Attorney General of New York accused Google and YouTube of collecting and using data about minors for their advertising. Google settled with the government over those claims, agreeing to pay $170 million in fines and restitution without admitting wrongdoing.
Weeks after that enforcement action was settled, a class action made up of people representing 34 children from 17 states filed a lawsuit alleging that the data collection and advertising practices violated the privacy rights of millions of children.
After a series of rulings and appeals, the plaintiffs and Google entered mediation, and recently arrived at the $30 million number, based on the estimated $52 million in “improper revenues” Google may have generated from targeted ads using kids’ data. The attorneys said they recommend the settlement be approved, as taking a case like this to trial would involve up to years of depositions and testimony, with no guarantee that a jury would find Google did anything wrong.
