(Reuters)

Google will pay US$30 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it violated the privacy of children using YouTube by collecting their personal information without parental consent, and using it to send targeted ads.

A preliminary settlement of the proposed class action was filed on Monday night (August 18) in San Jose, California, federal court, and requires approval by U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen.

Google denied wrongdoing in agreeing to settle.

The Alphabet unit agreed in 2019 to pay US$170 million in fines and change some practices to settle similar charges by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Some critics viewed that accord as too lenient.

Google did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday. Lawyers for the plaintiffs did not immediately respond to similar requests.

The parents or guardians of 34 children accused Google of violating dozens of state laws by letting content providers bait children with cartoons, nursery rhymes and other content to help it collect personal information, even after the 2019 settlement.

Van Keulen dismissed claims against the content providers -including Hasbro, Mattel, Cartoon Network and DreamWorks Animation – in January, citing a lack of evidence tying them to Google’s alleged data collection.

Mediation began the next month, leading to the settlement.

The proposed class covers American children under 13 who watched YouTube between July 2013 and April 2020.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said there could be 35 million to 45 million class members.

They said if one to two per cent submit claims, a rate comparable to similar earlier cases, claimants could receive US$30 to US$60 each, before deducting legal fees and costs.

The lawyers plan to seek up to US$9 million from the settlement for legal fees.

Alphabet posted net income of US$62.7 billion on revenue of US$186.7 billion in the first half of 2025.