Google, YouTube face lawsuit for violating children's privacy

A US appeals court has revived a lawsuit alleging that Google and other companies violated the privacy of children under the age of 13 by tracking their YouTube activity and sending them targeted advertising without parental consent.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Seattle ruled that the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) did not intend to preempt state law-based privacy claims. The lawsuit also claimed that YouTube content providers, including Hasbro, Mattel, the Cartoon Network, and DreamWorks Animation, lured children to their channels knowing that they would be tracked.

In 2019, Google agreed to pay $170m to settle charges by the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General that YouTube illegally collected children's personal data without parental consent.