Key Points:

• Google has agreed to pay $30 million to settle claims it illegally collected children’s data on YouTube for targeted ads.

• The class action could cover up to 45 million U.S. children under 13 who used YouTube between 2013 and 2020.

• Claimants may receive $30 to $60 each, while lawyers plan to seek up to $9 million in fees from the settlement.

Google has agreed to pay $30 million to settle a lawsuit alleging it violated the privacy of children using YouTube by collecting personal information without parental consent and using that data to deliver targeted advertising, according to court documents reviewed by The Desk this week.

A preliminary settlement was filed Monday in federal court in California, and is awaiting approval from U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen.

The settlement absolves Google of having to admit any wrongdoing in the case. Google is part of technology company Alphabet, and counts YouTube as one of its many subsidiary businesses.

The lawsuit was brought by the parents of 34 children, who accused Google of violating dozens of state privacy laws, including regulations in California. The plaintiffs claimed YouTube’s algorithm targeted children by serving up recommendations for cartoons, nursery rhymes and similar videos; once viewed, Google then allegedly collected the personal data of children’s viewing habits, despite a settlement in a 2019 federal case that was supposed to curb such practices.

In that earlier case, Google agreed to pay $170 million in fines and alter its data policies to settle charges brought by the Federal Trade Commission and New York Attorney General Letitia James. Critics at the time argued the penalties were too lenient for a company of Google’s size.

Earlier this year, Judge van Keulen dismissed claims against content providers, including Hasbro, Mattel, Cartoon Network and DreamWorks Animation, finding insufficient evidence that they were responsible for Google’s alleged collection practices. Mediation in February led to the settlement now before the court.

The proposed class action would cover U.S. children under 13 who watched YouTube between July 1, 2013, and April 1, 2020. Attorneys for the plaintiffs estimate there could be 35 million to 45 million eligible class members. Some legal experts estimate payments to be as low as $60 if just 1 percent of eligible families submit a claim, and as low as $30 if 2 percent of eligible class members submit a claim. The actual payments will likely be much less.

Lawyers for the plaintiffs said they plan to request up to $9 million in fees from the settlement fund.

YouTube earned nearly $10 billion in ad revenue during its most-recent financial quarter, according to documents submitted with federal regulators last month. The amount comprised nearly 10 percent of all revenue attributed to Google, the documents showed.