Google has quietly agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing YouTube of illegally collecting personal data from children under age 13 and using it for targeted advertising. The preliminary agreement was filed in San Jose federal court on Monday and still awaits approval from Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen.
This lawsuit isn’t new territory for Alphabet. In 2019, they settled a similar case with the FTC and New York Attorney General for $170 million, which required policy changes but drew criticism for being too lenient. The current class action covers U.S. children under 13 who watched YouTube between July 1, 2013, and April 1, 2020. Millions could be eligible, though payouts may barely cover a snack—reportedly $30 to $60 per person, before legal fees of up to $9 million are deducted .
Let me be blunt: this is not justice. For a company that raked in $62.7 billion in net income in just the first half of 2025, this settlement might as well be spare change. For a global giant like Google, $30 million is not a deterrent—it’s a cost of doing business wrapped in legal disclaimers.
Critics have pointed out before that penalties like these amount to little more than a slap on the wrist. Why? Because they don’t create structural change or instill accountability. The core practices continue uninterrupted, and children’s privacy remains compromised until—or unless—regulators choose to act forcefully.
This latest settlement should serve as a wake-up call: we need stronger, broader privacy protections, not these legal speed bumps. For every COPPA violation, the fine could reach just over $50,000 per child per day under federal law—but regulators don’t impose anything near that. Until we adopt meaningful safeguards or follow models like the EU’s, which rely on consent-based data collection and heavier penalties, big tech remains largely unscathed by its misconduct.
Here’s the real issue: Google’s settlement practices reveal a disturbingly casual approach to child safety and privacy. A company with unrivaled reach and influence should have better systems in place from day one. Instead, it waits until the lawsuits come, pays a fraction of what it earns in a quarter, and moves on—no admission of wrongdoing, no real reckoning, just an internal memo and a press release.
What bothers me most is that these cases are not isolated. They form a pattern: targeted ad revenue triumphs over ethical responsibility, and harmful practices continue until punitive action is inevitable. And even then, the penalties rarely cut deep.
The $30 million settlement should not be the final act—it needs to spark a deeper conversation. Parents, lawmakers, and regulators must demand actual reform—not band-aid settlements. Google must be held to standards that reflect its power and its reach. If not, treating children’s safety as negotiable will remain the status quo.
