Google to pay $8.25M after lawsuit over tracking children through apps

Google has agreed to establish an $8.25 million fund to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging children’s privacy violations.

The lawsuit was filed two-and-a-half years ago by six parents of minor children. They claim that from April 1st, 2015, to the present, Google has collected and used the personal information of children under the age of 13 through apps downloaded from the Google Play Store, including games such as Fun Kid Racing and GummyBear and Friends Speed Racing.

The plaintiffs accused Google’s AdMob software development kit of collecting data from underage kids at a massive scale without parental consent. The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) states that personal information of children who are younger than 13 years old can only be collected by notifying their parents or obtaining their consent.

Google denies any wrongdoing, but agreed to settle to avoid continued litigation.

According to the proposed settlement, Google must establish a fund containing $8.25 million in non-reversionary cash payments. The money will be used to offer small service awards to the plaintiffs’ guardians and to cover trial expenses, including notice and administration costs, attorneys’ fees, and litigation expenses.

The parents who filed the lawsuit not only represented their own children but also millions of US children under the age of 13. The class-size is estimated between 3.8 and 10 million minors.

Class members have the option to file a claim to get money, to opt out to sue Google separately, or to object to the settlement.

A final approval hearing is expected later this year. At that hearing, the court will decide whether to grant final approval to the settlement. Attorneys expect that only 1% or 2% of eligible families will file a claim, resulting in payments ranging from $40 to $200 per plaintiff.

Earlier this month, Disney was fined $10 million for tracking children under 13 through YouTube videos. In addition, the entertainment company has to establish and implement a program to review whether videos posted to YouTube should be labelled as made for kids or not made for kids.

Disney is required to comply with the COPPA Rule by notifying parents before collecting personal information from children under 13 and obtaining verifiable parental consent for the collection and use of that data.

Unlock more exclusive Cybernews content on YouTube.