Google and YouTube will pay $30 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing them of illegally collecting personal data from children under 13 and using it to target advertisements. U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen granted final approval to the settlement on January 13, 2026.
The lawsuit, Hubbard et al. v. Google et al., filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, alleged that the companies violated the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act by gathering personal information and viewing habits from young children watching content on YouTube—all without getting required parental consent. The plaintiffs claimed this data was then used to serve targeted ads to children.
According to case estimates, the settlement class could include somewhere between 35 and 45 million people. Google has consistently denied any wrongdoing throughout the litigation.
How Much Will People Get?
The $30 million fund will be divided among eligible class members on a pro rata basis, meaning individual payments depend entirely on how many valid claims come in. After covering attorneys' fees, administrative costs, and taxes, whatever remains gets split among claimants. Settlement administrators expect to mail checks sometime this spring after they finish processing all the claims.
Who Can File?
You're eligible if you or your child were under 13 years old at any point between July 1, 2013, and April 1, 2020, lived in the United States, and watched children's content on YouTube during that window. No receipts or proof of purchase necessary—just a valid claim form.
Filing a Claim
Class members can file online at youtubeprivacysettlement.com or mail a completed form to YouTube Privacy Settlement, c/o A.B. Data Ltd., PO Box 173131, Milwaukee, WI 53217. The deadline is January 21, 2026—just days away. Miss that date and you're out of luck.
The court already passed the deadline for exclusions and objections back on December 8, 2025. The final approval hearing took place via Zoom on January 13, with Judge van Keulen signing off on the deal.
Questions?
The claims administrator can be reached at [email protected], by phone at 877-390-3347, or through the mailing address listed above.
COPPA, enacted to safeguard children's online privacy, requires websites and online services to obtain verifiable parental consent before collecting personal information from kids under 13. This settlement doesn't mean Google admits it broke the law—settling to avoid drawn-out litigation is standard corporate practice—but it does resolve the legal claims against both companies.
With the claim deadline looming, anyone who thinks they qualify should head to the settlement website sooner rather than later.