United States of America: District Court for the Northern District of California approved USD 30 million class action settlement concerning alleged collection and use of children’s data

On 13 January 2026, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California granted final approval of a class action settlement in C.H. et al. v. Google LLC and YouTube LLC (Case No. 5:19-cv-07016-SVK). The settlement resolves claims that Google and YouTube unlawfully tracked and collected personal data from children under 13 who viewed child-directed content on YouTube without parental consent, in breach of federal and state privacy laws, including Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA)-related protections. The Court certified, for settlement purposes, a class of individuals in the United States who were under 13 and watched allegedly child-directed YouTube content between 1 July 2013 and 1 April 2020 (subject to specified exclusions), approved the settlement agreement dated 15 August 2025 and a USD 30 million cash fund to be distributed on a pro rata basis to class members submitting valid, timely claims, granted the agreed legal fees, costs and service awards, noted the absence of objections or opt-outs, dismissed the action with prejudice, and retained jurisdiction to oversee implementation of the settlement, including post-distribution accounting.