The Hubbard v. Google lawsuit was a class action filed in 2019 accusing Google and YouTube of secretly collecting personal data from children under 13 and using it to serve targeted ads, all without parental consent. After six years of litigation and a key federal appeals ruling that let the case survive, it ended in a $30 million settlement that received final court approval on January 13, 2026.1Silver Golub & Teitell. $30 Million Settlement in Child Tracking Litigation Against Google and YouTube Gets Final Approval
Nichole Hubbard filed the case on October 25, 2019, in the Northern District of California on behalf of her minor child and other families in the same situation. It was formally styled Hubbard et al. v. Google LLC et al., No. 5:19-cv-07016.2CourtListener. Hubbard v. Google LLC
What Google and YouTube Were Accused of Doing
The complaint alleged that YouTube used persistent identifiers, mainly browser cookies and mobile advertising IDs, to track children who watched child-directed content on the platform.3New York Attorney General. Google and YouTube Pay Record Figure for Illegally Tracking and Collecting Personal Information of Children Those identifiers are behind-the-scenes codes that recognize a viewer across sessions and websites, letting platforms and advertisers build profiles.4Federal Trade Commission. YouTube Pays Big for Tracking Kids
According to the plaintiffs, once a channel owner turned on monetization for content aimed at kids, YouTube automatically deployed those tracking tools. The data collected included search history, video viewing history, browsing activity, location information, and personal contacts, which was then used to serve behavioral ads tailored to each child’s inferred interests.5LCW Legal. Group of Children Allowed to Challenge Google’s COPPA Conduct Based on State Laws The complaint also alleged Google knew children were watching: YouTube had pitched itself to companies like Mattel and Hasbro as a top destination for kids and used internal age-based content ratings.3New York Attorney General. Google and YouTube Pay Record Figure for Illegally Tracking and Collecting Personal Information of Children
Because the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act does not give individuals the right to sue, the families brought their claims under state consumer protection and privacy statutes in Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, Tennessee, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Pennsylvania, and other states.6Justia. Hubbard et al. v. Google LLC et al.
How the FTC’s $170 Million Action Fits In
Weeks before Hubbard was filed, Google and YouTube agreed in September 2019 to pay $170 million to settle FTC and New York Attorney General allegations that they had violated the COPPA Rule. Of that, $136 million went to the FTC and $34 million to New York, then the largest civil penalty ever obtained in a children’s privacy case.7Federal Trade Commission. Google, YouTube Will Pay Record $170 Million for Alleged Violations of Children’s Privacy Law
That government settlement did not compensate individual children whose data had been collected. The Hubbard class action was the private effort to fill that gap. The FTC action also concerned the main YouTube platform only; the separate YouTube Kids app was not implicated because it did not track viewers for advertising purposes.4Federal Trade Commission. YouTube Pays Big for Tracking Kids
Why the Case Almost Didn’t Survive
Google argued that COPPA, as a comprehensive federal children’s privacy scheme, preempted any state-law claims covering the same conduct. The district court initially agreed and dismissed several claims on that basis.
A related case, Jones v. Google, took the preemption question to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. In a decision later reported at 73 F.4th 636, the appeals court held that state-law remedies for conduct overlapping with COPPA are not preempted by federal law, reasoning that the state claims were consistent with COPPA’s objectives.8Silver Golub & Teitell. Google/YouTube Child Tracking Litigation5LCW Legal. Group of Children Allowed to Challenge Google’s COPPA Conduct Based on State Laws That ruling reversed the lower court, revived the Hubbard plaintiffs’ state-law claims, and pushed the litigation toward settlement.
What the $30 Million Settlement Covers
The class was defined as everyone in the United States who was under 13 and watched allegedly child-directed content on YouTube between July 1, 2013, and April 1, 2020.9YouTube Privacy Settlement. FAQs
The $30 million fund was allocated in this order of priority:
- Attorney fees of up to 30% of the fund, or $9 million, for class counsel.
- Reimbursement of counsel’s litigation expenses up to $250,000.
- Administrative costs for class notice and claims processing.
- Taxes on the fund.
- Service awards of up to $1,500 per guardian of each class representative, totaling $27,000.
- The remaining balance distributed pro rata to class members who filed valid claims.
Anything left after distribution would go to a court-approved organization rather than back to Google.9YouTube Privacy Settlement. FAQs
Approval, Claims, and Expected Payouts
U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan van Keulen granted final approval on January 13, 2026, finding the settlement fair, reasonable, and adequate, and dismissing the case with prejudice.10GovInfo. Hubbard et al. v. Google LLC et al., Order Granting Final Approval11DataGuidance. District Court Grants Final Approval of $30 Million Settlement
The claim deadline was January 21, 2026. Because class members were minors, a parent or guardian had to submit the claim on the child’s behalf, either through the dedicated settlement website or by mail.12New York Post. How to Redeem the $30M YouTube Kids Privacy Payout The claims administrator used automated audits to screen out fraudulent submissions.
At the fairness hearing, roughly one million claims were expected, which would put individual payouts in the range of about $20 to $30 per class member after fees and expenses.13Courthouse News Service. Judge Approves $30 Million Settlement in YouTube Child Privacy Case As of mid-2026, payments had not yet gone out. The settlement website said disbursement would happen only after any appeals were resolved.14YouTube Privacy Settlement. YouTube Privacy Settlement Homepage
Why the Case Matters Beyond the Payout
The Ninth Circuit’s holding that COPPA does not preempt state-law privacy claims is the piece of Hubbard likely to outlast the settlement itself. Before that ruling, enforcement of children’s online privacy sat almost entirely with government agencies such as the FTC, because COPPA gives individuals no private right of action. The Jones and Hubbard outcome established that families can pursue their own claims under state consumer protection laws when companies collect children’s data without consent, creating a route to compensation that federal law alone does not provide.