What is This Claim About?
The YouTube class action lawsuit claims that the platform has been tracking children under the age of 13 while using the website since at least 25 May 2018.
The class action alleges that YouTube is violating children’s privacy laws by tracking their data and using it to select targeted ads to minors meanwhile they cannot consent and parental consent has not been retrieved either.
Who’s Eligible?
You may be eligible to join the YouTube class action lawsuit if you live in the U.K. and have children under the age of 13 who have used YouTube at any time since 25 May 2018.
How Much Compensation Will I Receive?
The class action is seeking more than £2.5 billion in damages on behalf of about 5 million minors under 13 in the U.K.
Children who have parents who are participating in the class action could receive hundreds of pounds each if the legal action rules in favour of them, according to law firm Hausfeld.
How Do I Join?
A YouTube class action lawsuit is being initiated in the U.K. over alleged invasions of the children’s privacy law.
Representative plaintiff Duncan McCann claims the platform knowingly breaches laws by tracking children’s activities on the website.
The class action lawsuit is seeking more than £2.5 billion in damages on behalf of 5 million children under the age of 13 having their privacies violated by the online platform, according to Tech Crunch.
Millions of children are being targeted by ads from YouTube, the class action lawsuit says. But the law says children under 13 cannot give consent for their user data to be collected, nor does YouTube ask for parental consent.
According to TechCrunch, the YouTube class action lawsuit alleges the Data Protection Act is being violated. Children’s privacy law prohibits minors from having their user data gathered for third-party advertisers.
McCann is a father of three children who regularly use YouTube. He alleges their data has been collected and used for targeted ads.
“My kids love YouTube, and I want them to be able to use it,” McCann said, according to Tech Crunch. “But it isn’t ‘free’ — we’re paying for it with our private lives and our kids’ mental health. I try to be relatively conscious of what’s happening with my kids’ data online but even so it’s just impossible to combat Google’s lure and influence, which comes from its surveillance power. There’s a massive power imbalance between us and them, and it needs to be fixed.”
Tech advocacy association Foxglove is supporting the YouTube class action lawsuit.
“We think it’s unlawful because YouTube processes the data of every child who uses the service — including kids under 13,” Foxglove wrote. “They profit from this data, as they are paid by advertisers to place targeted advertising on their YouTube website. They do all this without getting explicit consent from the children’s parents.”
International law firm Hausfeld is representing McCann in the YouTube class action lawsuit, according to Tech Crunch. Hausfeld has noted that class action lawsuit is going to be the first of its kind because it is being filed on behalf of children; it will also be one of the largest of its kind.
If the YouTube class action lawsuit is successful, millions of children who use the platform in the U.K. could be entitled to hundreds of pounds worth of compensation.
The YouTube class action lawsuit also points out the online platform does not have any sensible age requirements and does not attempt to limit usage by minors.
In addition to breaching the Data Protection Act, the class action lawsuit alleges YouTube is also in violation of Europe’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), the BBC reported.
“When the internet first emerged, we used to be worried about how children used the internet,” McCann told the BBC. “That is still a problem, but now it’s a two-way street. We need to focus on how the internet is using our children, and ask ourselves if we’re comfortable with them becoming a product for these digital platforms?”
YouTube insists it does not target minors for ads or violate children’s privacy laws.
However, YouTube’s popularity surpasses even British TV channels. YouTube regularly shows videos that appeal to children, such as cartoons and toy unboxings.
According to a Foxglove press release, YouTube has described itself as “the new Saturday morning cartoons,” and “the number one website visited regularly by kids.”
Tech Crunch reached out to YouTube for a comment about the alleged breaches of children’s privacy laws.
“We don’t comment on pending litigation,” a spokesperson responded. “YouTube is not for children under the age of 13. We launched the YouTube Kids app as a dedicated destination for kids and are always working to better protect kids and families on YouTube.”
