Google will pay thirty million dollars to settle a class action lawsuit that claims it violated children’s privacy on YouTube. According to Reuters, the lawsuit alleges that Google collected data from children watching YouTube videos. While this kind of data collection has become common, it remains illegal to collect data from children under the age of thirteen under the longstanding COPPA legislation.
Though Google will settle the case, the company denies these allegations. It is possible that up to forty-five million people in the United States could be eligible to receive small payments from this class action. The settlement encompasses anyone in the United States who watched YouTube while under the age of thirteen between July first, 2013 and April first, 2020.